Random chatter before the review: I went to Seoul to do double-eyelid consultation visits. First of all, my eyes are wrinkled monolids with narrow inner eye corners (a bit closed off), and I’ve been told many times that I have relatively little fat above the eyes and that my eyes are pretty big for monolids. So I thought I was a really easy caseㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.. But after going for consultations, they said the space between my eyes and eyebrows is too narrow and my midface is also on the long side, so I shouldn’t make the line too high. I was pretty shocked by that. Throughout my life I’d heard so many times that the wrinkles already look like a double eyelid? or that I probably don’t need surgery, so I felt down,, This is super long, so you can just look at 1, 2, 3.
Consultations
1. ㄹㅇㅈ Director ㄱㅈㅂ. This was the first consultation, and I went there with the thoughts I mentioned above, but they kept saying most of that wouldn’t work, which made the manager seem a bit frustrated (I didn’t get a feeling that she was especially kind or especially rude, but the atmosphere felt like I had to read the room. I’m good at reading the room.) Because the space between my eyes and eyebrows is narrow, they couldn’t make the line along my existing wrinkle line (kind of like a wrinkled Yuna Kim feel. Only the wrinkle part resembles it..), and they made it almost like a very subtle inner double eyelid. My eye size didn’t change much, but instead of looking a bit vacant, my eyes looked sharper, and they said I’d need ptosis correction. I also said I wanted a lateral canthoplasty and lower canthoplasty, and they said that was possible. I then asked a bunch of miscellaneous questions because it was my first consultation (can’t they widen the front lower part of the eye, why can’t the line be thicker, etc.), and since they said no to everything, I got sulky by myself before the director came in. When the director came in, the manager, who in my many consultation experiences usually leaves, stayed and watched from the back here (I was very aware of my expression hereㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅠㅠ). Since I was asking the same questions again to the doctor, of course the surgery would be done by the doctor, not the manager. As soon as he came in, he looked at the line and said I’d need ptosis correction and that we should go in with incision. Then came a barrage of questions: - Can’t we do the eye line along the current line? When I asked earlier, they said it would end up looking like sausage eyes, but I said I don’t have much fat above the eyes, so I wondered why that would happen -> He said the current wrinkle line is too high, and that sausage-eye appearance usually improves over the long term. He also said he’d try to avoid sausage eyes as much as possible. But the line would still have to be almost a very subtle inner double eyelid or an extremely thin in-out line (because the space between my eyes and eyebrows is close). He also said a thin line suits my eyes better right now. Here I blurted out, “But I’ll be wearing bangs, so can’t it be thicker?”... My mental state was already ruined before that.. - Asked whether it could ease the asymmetry of my eyes -> He said because there’s asymmetry to begin with, it could only be reduced to some extent. - I said the amount of fat is a little greater on the right side, and they said they would remove a bit more during surgery. - For the lateral/lower canthoplasty, he said I might end up with slightly exposed sclera on the outside, because my pupils? black irises are small
Conclusion: afterward, the consultation manager gave off a vibe of wanting to wrap things up quickly, and the doctor left. The cost was about 2.2 million won for double eyelid surgery + ptosis correction, and the canthoplasty was around the 1.2 million won range. Sedation and local anesthesia would be done together. What I realized later was that maybe I asked questions without even basic knowledge about double-eyelid surgery, so the manager probably got a bit frustrated. I understood that, but emotionally I didn’t like it, so I passed on it when leaving. The director was fine.
2. ㄱㅎㅅ - consultation fee 5,000 won They said the space between my eyes and eyebrows is narrow, so the line has to be made thin, and of course they’d make it as much like an in-out line as possible. But they said the existing wrinkle line wouldn’t work. They seemed a bit firm. They said if it’s made thick, it could become sausage eyes. When I asked about lateral/lower canthoplasty, they felt the space under my eyes and checked it, then said the positions of the cheekbones on both sides are a bit different and the inner eye cavity space is also not much, so if I do it, it would only open a little. They said they can do it, but I wouldn’t feel a big difference. Hearing about the eye space made sense to me. And here, since the left eye line is a bit steeper, they recommended upper canthoplasty. If I choose incision ptosis correction, non-incision ptosis correction, or buried sutures, I can choose, but incision + ptosis correction has the clearest effect. They were kind but firm. When I asked about the possibility of exposed sclera, they said it could happen and told me to wear circle lensesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It was cheerful. The manager was very kind and fun. They suggested trying buried sutures first and then incision later. Since I was upset that the line came out low, they recommended buried sutures first as the better option if I might do revision surgery again later. They showed a lot of before-and-after photos too. Good bb. I’m an F in MBTI.. I like empathy.. Incision ptosis correction + dual canthoplasty -> I remember it came out to 2.97 million
3. ㅅㅅㅇ Manager consultation - doctor consultation (manager stayed behind) - manager consultation The manager was so pretty... Her personality was good too, and after the doctor came in, since I had already asked everything at the previous hospitals, we only talked about the basics. First, they said incision ptosis correction, and suggested lower eyelid fat repositioning and fat grafting under the eyes. Since the existing line is too high and the distance between the eyes is narrow, they’d lower it a bit. Still, among the places I went to, this had the strongest feeling of trying to match what I wanted. It was an in-out line, but less thin. I also said I wanted a sharper cat-like eye shape with lateral/lower canthoplasty, and asked whether it could open given the limited space. They said it could open about this much, and seemed willing to adjust it to what I wanted to a certain degree. It could open more than the previous hospitals. They seemed to have a really strong sense of pride. The manager showed before-and-after photos and explained lower eyelid fat in great detail bb. I was really tempted, and since they said they’d match the degree I wanted, I liked it a lot. There was a discount if I decided on the same day. The cost was pretty high, so I couldn’t decide ㅠㅠ.. Dual canthoplasty + incision ptosis correction was 3.85 million Repositioning + fat grafting up to the second session was 2.75 million, which shocked me a bit because it was expensive. But I really liked it.. The before-and-after photos for lower eyelid fat, canthoplasty, and double-eyelid line weren’t very similar to the line I want, so I hesitated.
In the end, I couldn’t decide that day and I’m still thinking about it. Actually, I got questions and estimates about lower eyelid fat at other hospitals too, but the explanation here was so detailed that I didn’t use the others. I have puffiness under my eyes and that tired look, so I wanted to fix that too. But if I do it together with the double-eyelid surgery, the total comes to 5-6 million, so I gave up on doing both and decided to do just one.
4. Later, the ophthalmology clinic in my area I went for a double-eyelid consultation, and they said due to high myopia I have globe protrusion (ah, every hospital mentioned globe protrusion, but I heard the cause here!), and because of my eyesight, when I open my eyes, I use a bit of forehead muscle and my eye-opening force has gotten weak. They said if I do it, it would be incision ptosis correction, and the cost would be 500,000 won with insurance. But they said it would be local anesthesia only ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Wow, the price was so tempting. It’s a very famous hospital for double-eyelid surgery in our area. They said I don’t need lateral/lower canthoplasty because my eyes are already big enough, and that the fat around my eyes isn’t that different, but the left and right spaces are different and the eye positions differ. (They do canthoplasty there, but since it’s not a plastic surgery clinic, they’re probably more conservative.) But my biggest concern was that they would make the line along the existing line, the very line that three hospitals said wouldn’t work...ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It seemed like they were a bit rushed because they were short on time, and there wasn’t much discussion about the line. The manager also said they wouldn’t make it exactly there and that it would be lower, but it felt more ophthalmology-oriented than cosmetic (though the place is famous for double-eyelid surgery).
Next week I’m planning to visit about 3 more places. In the end I’ve decided the line should be either a thin in-out line or a very subtle inner double eyelid. What I’m worried about is whether I should just do it cheaply in my hometown, or in Seoul. The reason I wanted Seoul was because of lower eyelid fat repositioning and canthoplasty, but since it was more expensive than I expected, I decided to drop the fat repositioning. My dilemma is: 1. I think canthoplasty is definitely better in Seoul, so I’m not sure what to do. 2. Canthoplasty has so many side effects, so I’m wondering if I should just do it at the eye clinic instead (cost is the biggest factor). Or should I do only double-eyelid surgery + ptosis correction at the eye clinic or in my hometown, and consider canthoplasty later? If I only do the eye surgery at the eye clinic, it’s about 1.5 million won cheaper than the usual plastic surgery clinics (incision ptosis correction only). Or is it better to do everything at once? I’ll upload my eyes in review 2 for a bit. Please recommend. This post 1 was long, but I think that’s because it was my first consultation. I was sleep-deprived, dazed, and my writing style kept switching between casual and plain speech. Please understand. I think because of the cost, the most likely options right now are 2 and 4, but should I still visit a few more places next week...?? So annoying...