Hello. I am a man who has lived with a cleft lip and palate for 20 years. To the 1% of people born with cleft lip and palate like me, T_T I imagine many of you are deliberating over where to have plastic surgery, so I am leaving this review for reference. Since this is my first review, please understand if the writing is lacking. T_T
1. Before surgery I had already undergone plastic surgery three times at large hospitals. Because I focused on hospitals able to handle emergencies during surgery, I kept going to large hospitals. (First: third grade of elementary school; second: high school; third: adulthood.)
2. Consultations I think I visited around 10–20 hospitals known for cleft lip and palate. I remember making a checklist and taking it with me to every consultation, haha. After visiting more than 20 places, I chose this hospital for the reasons below. (1) Surgical plan: My preferred direction matched the director’s opinion. (2) The director’s facts: Many places spoke very abstractly and hopefully, but I liked that this hospital explained things factually, saying, “This cannot be done because of this,” and “This is possible.” (3) Issues: I only consulted hospitals with disturbing rumors and excluded them all. Avek had good ratings and no issues. (4) Kindness: I thought smooth communication with the hospital was important because many questions can arise while caring for yourself at home after surgery, so kindness was a priority. The director and front-desk staff at Avek were very kind during the consultation. (5) Cost: This may surprise people with cleft lip and palate. We usually expect 10–20 million won as a baseline for one procedure, but they quoted around 6 million won here, which surprised me. I tried to keep a poker face when asking about the cost, but failed after hearing it.
3. Surgical plan - Nasal alar correction: reduce one side and improve the other - Nasal tip correction: fill the depressed area using ear cartilage - Septal perforation repair: close it using oral mucosa
4. Surgery review I still like it so far. The nasal tip in particular turned out very well, and the asymmetry has improved considerably. It is only day 7, so the swelling is severe, but I will eat pumpkin diligently to reduce it and leave another review. I also asked many questions about postoperative care, and the front-desk staff and doctor answered very kindly, so I was truly grateful. I have something else to ask today, so I am going to ask again after writing this, lol.
Thank you for reading this long post.
Three-line summary 1. I visited about 15 hospitals for consultations to undergo my fourth cleft lip and palate asymmetry surgery. 2. Among the many options, I chose Avek Plastic Surgery and had the surgery there. 3. I am still very satisfied with the result!! I plan to leave another review after the swelling goes down.