First of all, I had my first surgery in Daegu, but I'm living alone in Seoul now, so please keep in mind that these are Seoul clinics I visited,, (I had saline implants 10 years ago through the armpit incision)
Since it had been 10 years, I was a bit complacent, but it really seems capsular contracture can happen regardless of timing. My symptoms were pain (throbbing, a tingling feeling in the breasts during my period) + abnormal texture (they became hard..), and the shape was gradually changing as if it was getting distorted, little by little.. When I got checked at a breast surgery clinic near work, they said the capsule condition looked abnormal and gave an opinion suspicious for capsular contracture. Only then did I realize, oh no, and my mental state was gone, but that was that. I thought if I delayed it more, only the shape would get worse, so I looked into hospitals specializing in revision surgery and went for consultations at GL and WD. I’m sure someone will need this information someday, so I’ll write up where I went.
WD - I went to W and consulted with Director Kim Ji-hyuk. I remember he was very confident.. I thought he had a bit of charisma and spoke well. But there was just that... particular feeling of his pride really showing, so it was a little overwhelming. Still, I definitely felt that he must be really good at surgery. They said even if I brought a CD, I would have to take new images, so I took them again. They said it was capsular contracture and that the capsule needed to be removed. If doing it, it would have to be through an inframammary incision. I don't really remember much from the consultation with the consultant. I think she just said what needed to be said. Not especially kind or unkind, just average. The director had a huge impact, and it’s a clinic where I could understand why it’s mentioned a lot and famous.
GL - I went to the breast surgery department. There was only Director Oh Jae-won, and I couldn't consult with him for long. He just looked at my ultrasound and said it was capsular contracture and the capsule needed to be removed through an inframammary incision. The consultant asked if I was considering revision surgery, and when I honestly said I wasn't sure, she suddenly empathized with me and looked up and showed me all kinds of removal and revision surgery case photos. She showed me photos of cases most similar to my breasts (mainly cases with similar surgery year and similar implants) and told me about real cases, like this person made this choice and this aspect was the most difficult, telling me to think a lot about it. She explained and took care to tell me about the emotional changes that can happen after removal and the emotional changes that can happen after revision surgery, so here the consultant’s consultation was more memorable than the director’s.
I was more satisfied with the director consultation at WD, but I liked the consultant consultation at GL more. As for the hospital organization and system... honestly both were good and not bad, so I still haven't decided. Both places are famous for revision surgery..
Oh, and I don't know whether WD discloses CCTV (I didn’t hear an explanation, and I was too out of it to ask), but GL said they open all CCTV and most people view it before leaving. If surgery goes well without problems, I do wonder if there’s a need to watch it, but just in case.. I think it would be good to check whether things like this are all disclosed too.
Anyway, everyone thinks capsular contracture happens within 1 year, but 5 years, 7 years, 10 years.. Just like you can’t know a person’s life, you also can’t know when capsular contracture will come. Maybe this is why people say to do it at a place with lifetime AS. It’s foolish, but I thought it wouldn’t happen to me... It’s too late to regret it now, so I’m trying to think of it as a life lesson.
Thinking about paying surgery fees again makes me want to cry blood, but once I make up my mind, I’m going to get surgery right away.. After I get it later, I’ll come back to post an update review. When everyone looks into breast surgery, don’t take it lightly; really look into it carefully If you check just these three things, AS, postoperative care, and CCTV, you’ll probably be able to filter out most places.
Good luck, everyone!!