Ah.. I’m really so happy.. I’m posting to share my full experience with the consultation and surgery, not with disgusting brokers, but with a surgery I paid for myself.
I didn’t get any review discount and paid the full price, but it turned out so well that I wanted to brag about it.
On 1/2, I had my very first rhinoplasty with Dr. Kim Da-ram, first thing in the morning, and the result right after surgery was 999999% satisfying. I was overwhelmed T_T
I already had a basic nasal bridge and radix, but I had a slightly aquiline nose and a drooping tip. The front view wasn’t that stressful for me (it was a little bit of a fleshy nose, but not severely so), but the side profile was what really bothered me and needed improvement.
When I first decided to have my first nose surgery, I thought I should do proper research all at once, choose carefully, and leave the plastic surgery scene quickly. So I filtered out brokers, focused on apps with at least somewhat honest reviews like this community, looked mainly for clinics with many cases like my aquiline nose, clinics that use no implants, and clinics that would give me the line I wanted, natural but refined. After narrowing down the list, I went for consultations at 3 to 4 places, including Clinic A, which I liked the most.
Things I liked included CCTV, guardian presence, 1 year free A/S, the surgeon personally checking all follow-ups, 3D CT, the Infit implant option (I didn’t use it, but it seemed like another advantage of this clinic, so I wanted to mention it), and a neat interior.
They recommended no implant, aquiline nose correction, fascia behind the ear for line refinement, and ear septal cartilage for the tip. The surgical method itself was my favorite, the line looked good to me, and both the surgeon and the coordinator were kind during the consultation. It had been my top pick from the start even while I was researching on my own, so I chose Clinic A, put down the surgery deposit, and had the surgery a month later. Every time I looked up consultation reviews for the surgeon, they were all positive, so I was suspicious. But once I actually saw him, he was genuinely kind and clearly explained both what could and could not be done. It was exactly the consultation style I wanted. He did not say empty flattering things at all.
He said that if the tip were raised any more, the philtrum would be pulled up and the cartilage would show because my skin is thin, so he would only make it to a properly stable line. It felt like a focus on safety and natural results, which made it even better because it was exactly the kind of clinic I wanted.
I tend to worry a lot, feel anxious, doubt things, and want to be extremely careful, so I get a lot of stress from the process. Even the day before surgery, I was tense, kept searching online, kept looking up materials, and on the day of surgery I kept pestering Dr. Da-ram during the design consultation. I was told that if I brought printed photos, they would attach them next to the operating table and use them as references, so I printed about 8 photos, including photoshopped mockups of my face and nose photos marked as absolutely not to do. I emphasized everything I wanted, such as not wanting a long midface and not wanting the columella to come down too much.
I asked about every little detail, fired off dozens of questions, lol, and brought my boyfriend as my companion so I could bombard the surgeon with questions. I really bothered him, but he caught everything I was saying immediately.
The surgeon even bluntly said, "If you’re going to be this anxious, you don’t have to do nose surgery. You can cancel on the day and just go home." Surprisingly, I liked that even more...+_+ Anyway, I told him I was definitely going to have nose surgery, but I just wanted it done nicely and prettily, and he smiled and said okay. After that I lay down on the operating table. (Even right before lying down, I kept chattering about my Smile LASIK and asking him to be careful with my eyes... sorry for being annoying, doctor..) He kindly said, "Yes, I’ll be careful for you~" lol
Also, the surgery contract wasn’t signed with the coordinator; I signed it directly while hearing the explanation from the surgeon!
After that, once the anesthesia wore off and before discharge, I had a follow-up consultation while looking at the immediate post-op nose line photo that the surgeon personally took with his camera.
Honestly, just seeing the side profile made me tear up inside... I loved it so much.
Dr. Da-ram is amazing T_T I heard that once the swelling goes down, the nose will look like the one before swelling appeared right after surgery, and I loved it so much. I had chosen not to do osteotomy and instead to gently reduce the aquiline bridge naturally, and I worried it might end up too uneven even if I didn’t expect it to be perfectly smooth. But he made the fascia behind the ear a little thicker, taking into account that the dermis would be absorbed later and the shape would settle more smoothly. He explained in detail that the nose would look like this at 1 month, and that by 3 months, as more of the fascia behind the ear is absorbed, it would come down slightly to create a curved line. I liked all of it.
He also did the overcorrection for the tip properly, exactly as I requested, thinking ahead to possible drooping later.
The next day, when I went to remove the packing, I got a swelling laser treatment, an antibiotic injection, and tape on my ear, then met the surgeon again. He checked the shape of my ear in the mirror and said it would stay this way without deformation. Because he knew I might feel anxious and worried, he showed me the photos again and explained everything first, which really reassured me. I don’t feel anxious at all now.
I could always find it hard to see bad reviews or complications for Clinic A; only good reviews seemed to show up. Now I think I understand why. It reads like a broker wrote it, but this is a real review from someone who paid the full price T_T I’m so happy..
I didn’t get a review discount, but I just wanted to post because I liked it, so I’m writing this late at night.
Of course each hospital is subjective and experiences can differ, but for me, Clinic A was 100% satisfying in every part: self-research, in-person research, consultation, re-consultation, surgery, coordinator, surgeon, and kindness. I’m happily waiting while carefully managing the swelling to go down. Thank you, doctor
Coordinator Hwang Bo-mi was also so kind, and even though I kept sending long flood-after-flood questions on KakaoTalk, she always replied quickly, kindly, and clearly. I’m very grateful.