At every clinic, I said the same things: (1) since this is my first surgery, I want the natural adhesion method if possible, but if incision is the only answer, incision is fine too. (2) If needed, I’m open to a slight epicanthoplasty, but no other canthoplasty procedures. (3) No ptosis correction. (4) Even if the line is low, I prefer a natural in-to-in-out line.
ㅇㅇㄱㄹ The location was great, right in front of the station, so it was convenient! I made the appointment pretty urgently, and they got me in the fastest. The coordinator was kind too. Before the consultation, they took several photos and explained things while pulling the photos up on screen, which felt professional and I liked that. The doctor was kind, and there was no pushing of unnecessary procedures. What stood out most was when they said, "There isn’t enough space for a lateral canthoplasty, and even if we widen it, it would only be 2 mm, so don’t do it." The price wasn’t bad either. And after the consultation, the coordinator organized everything and sent me the summary on KakaoTalk, which was a small but touching detail. This was my very first consultation, so I honestly don’t have that much to remember ㅠㅠ
ㅇㄴㅂ This place also had a really good location, and the hospital was on the first floor no less. The first floor is probably the most expensive for rent... Wow, a first-floor clinic in this location must be really famous and doing well ㅋㅋㅋ It’s bigger than ㅇㅇㄱㄹ, but eye surgery is handled by just one doctor, so it’s basically a one-doctor clinic. The doctor here was said to be the first to present the natural adhesion surgical method in academia, so I was like, oh~ The coordinator was kind, very friendly, cracked jokes, helped ease the atmosphere, and explained things in detail! The issue was... they recommended a brow lift, which I had never even considered. I was a bit startled because I suddenly heard about a brow lift. They said my eyes are small and sit close to the lower lash line, so if I do lower lateral/under-canthoplasty, there’s a high chance I’ll end up with scleral show, so if I’m not going to get a brow lift, I should just do double eyelids. The coordinator here also sent me a summary of the consultation later. I didn’t get that vibe during the consultation, but looking at the summarized notes, it did feel a little intimidating (like saying that if I don’t want it to loosen, I’d have to do incision, or that without ptosis correction it’s hard to set a high line, etc...). Also, they didn’t take photos of me, and throughout the consultation they kept showing me a PPT summarizing surgeries they had done there. Honestly, I didn’t love that... It felt less like they were customizing surgery to my face and needs, and more like they wanted to sell me their product. Separate from the fact that it didn’t suit me well, they seemed very confident overall in eye surgery. Rather than having a very fixed personal style, it seemed like a good fit for someone who just wants to make a double eyelid fold and make the eyes look a bit larger!
ㅇㅇㅋㅌ Probably the smallest of the places I visited? One-doctor clinic. They took photos of my eyes during the consultation. I got a bit scared after hearing about a brow lift at ㅇㄴㅂ, so I asked whether I would need one too, and they said no, I didn’t need it. Of course, it would make things fresher if I did it, but for my age it would be a pretty big surgery. I felt like this doctor had a certain face type they preferred, ㅋㅋㅋ. They didn’t ignore my needs during the consultation, but while marking the line they separately said things like, “This would look prettier,” and “If you leave it to me and tell me to make it pretty however I want, this is how I’d do it.” Some people might see that as a plus and others as a minus, but I felt like the doctor’s aesthetic preferences matched mine pretty well, ㅋㅋㅋ. I liked that the doctor didn’t just make a double eyelid fold, but seemed to genuinely want to create what they considered a truly "pretty face." Among the places I visited, they were the most willing to recommend an epicanthoplasty. The consultation was the longest.
ㅈㅇㅌ This wasn’t a one-doctor clinic, and among the places I visited, it was the only one where Chinese was also written on the chart during intake. The consent forms were also split into domestic and foreign patient versions. It seemed like they do quite a lot of surgery for foreign patients = I thought, okay, so this is also a well-performing clinic! It was the only place I visited that measured the distance between my eyes and said it wasn’t wide, so I didn’t need an epicanthoplasty! This was the first clinic that measured that separately and explained it, so I liked that. When I showed them the photos I wanted, they also said natural adhesion plus just a little removal of eyelid fat would be enough. The doctor was really kind, friendly, and when drawing the line, said "look at me," which was funny and nice ㅋㅋㅋ. The consultation with this doctor was genuinely good. For such a famous clinic, the doctor spent quite a long time on the consultation too, and I liked that. My younger sibling also had a separate consultation here, and they said the doctor was kind and friendly with them too, and they liked it.
I felt like, out of these four clinics, there was one where I thought, ah, this is it! I’m going to have it done here, so that’s the one I plan to go with. But apart from that, I didn’t feel uncomfortable or dislike any of the four clinics during the consultations, so I think it just comes down to finding the one that fits each person best? I already got the surgery date booked quickly, so I’ll post a review after it’s done~