Before and after, after and before, I’m now 4 weeks post-op ((Mentor Extra 270/295, inframammary fold incision, chest width 11.5)) I still haven’t fully adapted, so I have lots of questions, and seeing that I now have breasts feels amazing too
I had surgery with Director Jo Jeong-mok at Eton Plastic Surgery When I searched the hospital name, Eton didn’t come up, but it did when I searched Incline. It seems the name was changed from Incline to Eton. This was my first time going to a plastic surgery consultation, so I didn’t know, but if you consider the travel distance between clinics when booking consultations, you can cut down on movement and make the process much more efficient. -Choosing the hospital- I looked for a hospital or doctor that specializes only in breasts, rather than a doctor who does all kinds of procedures. I wanted to avoid large hospitals. There are a few reasons, but I’ll skip them. I chose the hospital information by watching YouTube and Babitalk, and originally this clinic wasn’t on my consultation list, but I wanted to hear Director Jo’s explanation on YouTube and booked an appointment in an empty morning slot. So I canceled the appointment I had made at another place because I couldn’t make the time. I consulted at three places in total: Eton, another clinic, and another clinic, but there was one hospital I especially wanted to visit and I couldn’t fit it in. First consultation, 9:30, Eton Consultation fee free It was my first-ever cosmetic consultation in my life, so I asked about literally everything, and they explained things in detail. The consultation with the director took a long time. I tried everything, including 3D imaging and putting implants into a bra. Second consultation, 11:00, another clinic Consultation fee 20,000 won, deducted if you have surgery The consultation coordinator did almost everything. The director only measured my size, encouraged me, and that was it. Since it’s a breast surgery specialty clinic, I could feel the professionalism. I didn’t look at 3D, but I did try putting implants into a bra. Third consultation, 4:00, another clinic Consultation fee 10,000 won, deducted if you have surgery When I said it was my third place, they asked if I had already seen 3D somewhere else, and when I said yes, they skipped the 3D and only let me try the implants. After finishing with the coordinator, I had the consultation with the director, but they seemed exhausted, maybe because they had had a hard day, so I felt bad for them. Wow, but after the consultations my head felt even more complicated and empty, and I understood even less Anyway, there are reasons I didn’t choose the other hospitals, but I’ll keep quiet about them. Since they’re all good hospitals and all the doctors are professionals.. who am I to judge?
I decided to have surgery at Eton. The reason is that I wrote out my question list in advance and asked the coordinator and the director, and they explained everything calmly and clearly, and they were extremely kind. Also, I thought post-op issues were the most important thing, and this place gave me the strongest sense of trust. They’re still kind after surgery too. The more treatment I receive, the more I feel I made the right choice.. I kind of want to keep this place to myself. A cosmetic surgery gem I want to keep secret?? Something like that
Here, they gave me two sports bras in addition to the compression bra. I appreciate that small consideration. Do other hospitals give them too?? I suddenly got curious. But this clinic doesn’t really do events or promotions. When I look at Babitalk, lots of places do them, so I think it would be nice if they did too. -Post-op progress- From the evening of the surgery day, the director sent a message to check my condition, and the next day, and the morning after that, they sent messages to check my pain level and how I was feeling. When I asked questions by message, they replied. If I sent photos, they looked at my condition and answered. I don’t know whether other places do it like this too.
As for the pain, on the day of surgery I sat upright and dozed off. Ah.. it was so hard. It hurt even if I just leaned back slightly. From day 2 or 3, I slept leaning back at about a 45-degree angle. The swelling went down and my stomach bulged out. I had no appetite, and the compression bra hurt so much and was so hard to get used to that it was rough. I also did cold compresses because it felt like the throbbing eased a bit. After day 4, I could sleep lying flat, but getting up was hard. It was just a week where sitting up to sleep felt more comfortable. Still, because it hurt, I made sure to take Tylenol in the middle of the night in addition to the medicine prescribed by the hospital. I slept only one or two hours at a time and kept waking up. Housework was hard. I opened the refrigerator door, the washer door, and the dryer door very carefully. I had no idea opening a door could take so much effort. Even washing dishes and putting them up in the cabinet was hard. I couldn’t raise my arms fully, so I couldn’t take things down from high places. I also took light walks in the evening. But after that, my body felt tired and my chest felt sore and tight. By week 2, the pain was still there, but since I had run out of all the hospital-prescribed medicine, I got through it with Tylenol. It was a little better than the first week, but the unpleasant discomfort was still there. I was still careful with housework. Why is there so much laundry I also walked a little bit. I was careful in case someone bumped into me. As week 3 came around, I could get by without taking Tylenol almost at all. I could now stretch my arms all the way out, and opening the washer door wasn’t hard anymore.
The treatments were: Week 1: ultrasound, bruise and swelling treatment Week 2: ultrasound, regenerative laser, and soothing care Week 3: ultrasound, radiofrequency, and bruise/swelling management That’s how it went. The pain improved starting in week 3, so I almost didn’t take Tylenol. I had hand numbness, and the doctor said it would gradually get better and told me to stretch a lot. The hand numbness has been gradually improving since after week 3, when I started fully extending my arms. I’m now entering week 4 as well. There’s almost no pain now. At the week 3 checkup, I told the doctor that the compression bra hurt, and they said I could remove it when sleeping, so today I’m going to sleep wearing only the sports bra. Not wearing it makes me feel like I can breathe again. The bruising has almost all gone away too. I think the incision area of the pectoralis major is sore, but there are still brief poking or tingling pains. Now I can lie a little on my side, and I can stretch too. In the morning I saw that I had slept with my arms raised. The current size was said to be the maximum for my body, but I think it suits me perfectly.
Honestly, I’m older, it cost a lot of money, and I also wondered whether I really needed to go through something this uncomfortable, but my conclusion is, “I’m glad I did it.” I just like it a lot. I think they made my chest beautifully too. This is absolutely not to encourage cosmetic surgery.
Before breast surgery, I had a lot of questions too, and it all felt vague, so I’m posting this in case this process and my experience can help people who are planning breast surgery. People say breast surgery has many side effects beyond capsular contracture, and it can be painful and uncomfortable. If it’s something you want enough to accept that, then I would recommend it. I’m so satisfied and happy. Other people aren’t interested and don’t know, but as long as I’m happy, that’s enough, so I’m just feeling extra confident by myself