Procedure : Facial contouring surgery (cheekbone reduction, jaw anlge reduction, genioplasty) / Rhinoplasty (silicon implant, donor rib cartilage, ear cartilage, alar base reduction) / Double eyelid surgery non-incision method
Hello, I’m here to share my experience at Braun
Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seoul, South Korea! I had considered some other
clinics and received online consultations as well, but what made me choose
Braun and doing plastic surgery in Korea in general was the proof of results
from people who looked like me. Since photos can be easily manipulated, I
prefer to see video results from clients and I was impressed with what I saw on
Braun’s YouTube and Instagram channels.
While I was initially hesitant because some of
the earlier examples were from girls who wore more make-up (making it harder to
see results), the recent ones gave me a better idea of what their results look
like. I wanted a very natural looking result so I chose Braun as the best
option out of the other ones I considered. The procedures I will be doing are
facial contouring, rhinoplasty, non-incisional double-eyelid with ptosis
correction and epicanthoplasty, and facial liposuction under my jawline.
Consultation:
I met with three doctors: Dr Tae-Gyu Kim (facial
contouring), Dr Wu Seop Lee (eyes & liposuction), and Dr Ji Won Lee
(rhinoplasty). The English translation team at Braun have three members
(Jennifer, Moses, & Alex) and they were all very nice and kind. The
translation service was great and all the doctors were professional and gave
great recommendations after seeing my CT scans and X-rays. In particular, Dr Wu
Seop Lee was very kind and I appreciated him trying to speak English with me
and reassuring me.
To be honest, I felt a lot of anxiety about the
procedures before my consultation but hearing their expert opinion and getting
my questions answered helped me feel more sure of myself and my decision. I
told myself that even though I came all the way to Korea, I would back out if I
ever felt unsafe and I felt safe in their hands. I feel like they really
considered my unique facial structure like my large bones and flat/wide nose
when doing their recommendations.
Surgery Day:
I fasted for 8 hours before surgery and I
surprisingly felt very calm. I met with all the doctors again and they told me
what they will be doing, and drew reference marks on my face. The scariest
thing for me was going into the operating room and seeing a bunch of nurses and
the operating table in front of me. I’ve never had surgery before so this was a
first experience for me. When they hooked me up to the heart monitor, it was
going crazy! I gargled some solution before I lied down and they asked me a
bunch of questions like if I had fasted, if I was allergic to any medication,
etc.
After that, the eye doctor came in to finalize
my eye design and the anesthesiology doctor came in to start the process. They
sedated me with the IV first and then the tube. The IV needle was supposed to
hurt because it was quite thick, but I have high pain tolerance so it wasn’t
bad for me. I was also very relieved to have Alex in the room with me
translating before I went under because they reassured me when my heart rate
would pick up. Anyways, I should have never worried about waking up during the
surgery because I knocked out completely lol. I’ll give you guys an update 1
week post-op on the healing journey so far and then 2 weeks after!!
1 Week Update!~
Days 1-2:
I didn’t really feel pain because I was under
such heavy painkillers so I really only felt swollen. On the first day, it’s
common to throw up because of the anesthesia so that’s exactly what I did haha.
Other than that, I slept through a lot of Day 1
and 2 so it was like a blur for me. I had to eat/drink well in order to take my
medication 3x a day but it was quite challenging and I had to use a syringe.
Also had to keep applying ointment, ice packs, and gargling after every meal.
The most painful part of these two days was
removing the wrappings around my face on the second day and some of the
stitches on the side of my face. It stung but it wasn’t unbearable and I left
Day 2 with a removable headband. They also gave me a hair wash on Day 2 and a
de-swelling treatment and that felt great.
These days were my most swollen days! I felt well enough to walk around so I explored parts of Seoul. Walking helps de-swell and it was nice to be kind of incognito with a mask on.
Again, no pain because of the painkillers but there were times where my lips would get so swollen it would be super uncomfortable. Eating, drinking, gargling and brushing my teeth became easier as I was able to open my mouth more.
On Day 5, I went back to Braun to remove my nose cast, eye/nose stitches, other facial stitches, and ear cartilage stitches. Surprisingly, this was not as painful as I thought it would be except for one stitch on my right eye and a few between my nostrils. I also had another de-swelling treatment and that felt amazing because it really cooled my face down.
My eyes and nose are a lot less swollen and I can kind of see the results of what it will look like. I quite like it so far. It’s easier for me to open my eyes without a lot of effort, like it did before surgery. My nose bridge is also a lot higher and tip a lot smaller.
Days 6-7
I can finally wash my face now and it feels
AMAZING. I finished my medication so now, I just have to focus on applying
ointment and staying away from the sun. My swelling is starting to go down and
without the face band, I look pretty normal walking around outside when I have
a mask and hat on. I feel like my facial features are coming together &
excited to see what it’ll look like at the 2 week mark.
Before and After