I have monolids and this was my first time getting double eyelid surgery. During winter break, my parents said they would pay for the surgery, so I worked hard to pick hospitals to visit in person. But since I live in the countryside, it was hard to go to multiple consultations, so I went to two places: one hospital I chose and one my parents chose.
1. ㄴ~~ Plastic Surgery (3 characters), chief surgeon Consultation fee: none Total time taken: 1 hour 30 minutes Recommended: non-incisional adhesion + epicanthoplasty
First, after I went in, I filled out my chart and within a few minutes I met with the director. The consultation with the director was so kind and good. After that, I waited 40 minutes in the consultation room and met the surgeon. Around 30 minutes into the wait, the staff told me the surgeon had finished surgery and would be coming soon. When I met the surgeon, he had just come right after surgery, but he still explained things in detail while drawing out my eye shape. He said that when setting the line, without epicanthoplasty it would be hard to make the line high, and that I didn’t have to do it if I didn’t want to. But I was persuaded by what he said, so I decided to do non-incisional adhesion and epicanthoplasty and left a 10% deposit there (the deposit is 100% refundable until 5 days before surgery).
2. ㅂ~~~ Plastic Surgery (4 characters), Dr. Lee (not the chief surgeon) Consultation fee: none Total time taken: 40 minutes Recommended: buried suture method
At the first reception desk, I filled out my chart and had photos taken with the director? reception staff? The staff wasn’t especially kind, just blunt and like they were only doing what they were told. That felt a bit off. Then I went somewhere else and consulted with the director, but I had gone in thinking it was the event price, and they quoted a higher price than that. They said the event price was for an older surgical method that is now not commonly used, and that the method they use is the newer, better one these days, so it costs more. I felt a little scammed there, so I thought, ah, this isn’t the place for me, I’ll just hear the surgeon’s consultation and leave. Since I hadn’t chosen a specific surgeon, after about 5 minutes I consulted with the surgeon recommended by the director. The surgeon asked about the line I wanted and explained things while setting the line several times. He said buried suture method is recommended for students and people who probably won’t do well with a full release, and that epicanthoplasty can be done later when I’m a bit older. Then I didn’t really have any questions, so the consultation ended quickly. The surgeon consultation was kind and fine, but my mind had already left after the director consultation (and the deposit felt a bit forced), so I just left.
In the end, I booked with the first hospital. What I learned was that double eyelid surgery is said to be a really simple procedure these days, so I originally planned to choose just one hospital, get a consultation, and have the surgery. But I thought that even for surgery, I really should visit at least two places and compare them before deciding. Thanks for reading this long post, and if anyone is curious about the estimate, please ask in the comments.