Goal: lower the crease line + correct uneven eyelids For the first surgery, I had incision / ptosis correction / epicanthoplasty, but it ended up with a sausage-like look and asymmetry. I later had revision surgery, but there is still a sausage-like tendency and asymmetry left (and the crease line is still wrinkly..) Recently I went out, took photos, and was shocked to see how severe the asymmetry in my eyes looked, so I started thinking about a second revision surgery.
These were the criteria I set. 1. A place where sedation anesthesia is possible (brief sedation + local anesthesia) - The place I went to before absolutely did not offer sedation anesthesia, and it was so hard.. (extreme pain) 2. A place known for revision surgery 3. A place that does it naturally 4. A place that is neither overly friendly nor unfriendly - The previous place was a bit unfriendly, and I thought, they’re not even that friendly, but if they charge this much, they must be good? and then it went badly. - The place before that was overly friendly, but their attitude changed after surgery. 5. A place that does not try to push same-day payment with discounts or other bait - I also tried to avoid places that put up things like event prices on their website as much as possible. 6. (Important) A place that does not recommend ptosis correction - As a side effect from the first surgery, I had sausage look + mucosal eversion + deep scarring + asymmetry, so I did not want to do it again.
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So I visited a total of 6 places. After going to several places, I really felt that visiting many clinics is important.. everyone says something different. Going to only one or two places seems really risky. (Especially for revision surgery.) And if possible, going to one place per day seems better for making a proper judgment. (or leaving time in between so you can record the consultation details)
◆ 1. ㄱㅎㅅ - Consultation fee: 5,000 won - Cost: mid-4 million won range (double-fold line creation + ptosis correction) - Lash eversion and lagophthalmos will not improve (it’s better to think it gets worse each time you have surgery) - Asymmetry will only improve a little - The crease line will not be lowered much either - Ideally, you should wait 1-2 years after the previous surgery - Because I use my forehead a lot, botox was recommended (100,000 won, one free session if you have surgery)
I was a bit taken aback because ptosis correction was brought up first, and I was also slightly surprised when botox came up. I showed them a photo of the line I wanted, but they said it could not be done right away. They said I have a habit of frowning, so the forehead is gradually becoming more furrowed in shape (first time I’d heard that). They also said I have a bit of lagophthalmos (but visually, my eyes look fully closed). They suggested solving it with botox rather than surgery, and said that with botox the crease line would look much lower.
<Conclusion> After hearing everything, I felt there wasn’t much to gain from doing it there.. (no meaningful improvement anyway) After leaving, I ended up thinking again about what I really wanted. Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t care about scars or lagophthalmos, and that I’d be satisfied if only the asymmetry were corrected. I decided I should say that next time.
◆ 2. ㅅㅅ - Consultation fee: none (I waited over 30 minutes after arriving) - Cost: high-4 million won range (double-fold line creation + ptosis correction + upper epicanthoplasty) - They said mucosal eversion / lagophthalmos would not get worse, or they could not promise improvement - Timing-wise, it would be fine to do it right away without waiting - I mentioned the botox issue I heard at the previous clinic, and they said I didn’t use my forehead that much, so they hadn’t brought it up
They said the double-eyelid thickness could definitely be lowered, very confidently. They said the three problems were weak eye-opening strength, asymmetry in the front part of the eyes, and excessive thickness. They said the asymmetry in the front part of the eyes could only be fixed with upper epicanthoplasty and that it was necessary. The manager came in midway, and it somehow felt like silent pressure that time was up and I should leave, and in fact the consultation ended one minute later. Looking back, this place also felt like they recommended a lot of things, and ptosis correction came up again, so my trust level dropped a bit.
<Conclusion> I was a little suspicious because they seemed to say everything could be done.. and they recommended a lot. Especially since their comments were so different from the first clinic, I felt I should visit other places too.
◆ 3. ㄴㅅㅎ (Dr. ㄱㄷㅎ) - Consultation fee: none - Surgery is not possible now, and even if done, it would not meet my needs (there isn’t enough spare skin, so it’s almost impossible to lower the double-fold line and improve the scar at the same time) - If we assume I get surgery later after the eye skin stretches with age, it would be roughly mid-3 million won range (double-fold line creation + scar removal, excluding ptosis correction) - There was no lagophthalmos visible outwardly, but since I said my eyes are very dry in the morning, they said there is some possibility of lagophthalmos - If you force surgery and cut the skin, lagophthalmos could get worse - Special point: there was a section asking whether there is a surgery method you want to avoid (I wrote ptosis correction)
The explanation from the manager was the kindest and most detailed among the places I’ve been to so far. I didn’t choose a specific doctor, and was introduced to the doctor they recommended. They said it didn’t look promising, that there isn’t enough skin to do an incision method, but the scarring is too severe. They said the wrinkled line is because the scar is bad. But they also said double-fold line creation can easily leave scars, so surgery is not possible now. They told me to consider it again once the skin ages, stretches, and creates more spare skin (uh.. when is that..?) I asked why another clinic had said it was possible, and they said surgery itself would be possible, but it wouldn’t match my needs.
<Conclusion> It did feel like they were being realistic. But telling me to wait until I’m old felt too harsh... Do I have to wait like 10 years..? For now, I decided to go to a few more places as reference.
◆ 4. ㅈㅅㅇ - Consultation fee: none - Surgery not recommended (both ptosis correction / crease line correction not recommended) - Eye-opening strength is sufficient, asymmetry is not severe, mucosal eversion is not severe either - The crease line is not that high if you open your eyes properly - Need to practice opening the eyes well without lifting the forehead or raising the chin - If you really want to do something, front-side line correction in the 800,000 won range (non-incisional)
They explained eye-related knowledge at length (the consultation was the longest among the places I’d been to so far). They said the reason they talked so long was to explain that my eye-opening strength is not lacking at all. They told me to press down the forehead and open my eyes without lifting my chin. They asked if I could see the whites of my eyes when opening them, and said it was just because I lacked practice opening my eyes. They said real ptosis would not look like this no matter how hard I tried to open my eyes. In the middle, they called in the manager and said it seemed they had made the wrong judgment, that this person had no problem with eye-opening strength and did not need correction at all (and then they left, wow). Visually, the mucosa was not that everted, and the asymmetry was just within the normal range for anyone, they said. They said the scars can’t be helped, but they will improve over 6 months to 1 year, so waiting is also an option. They also showed photos of patients who truly needed surgery. They said double-eyelid surgery is like a seesaw, with gains and losses, and you only do it if the gains are much greater than the losses, but that would not be the case for me. If anything, only front-side correction would be needed. They said there will be plenty of places that tell you to fix everything from A to Z, so people like this are needed too.
<Conclusion> I was surprised in a completely different way because I heard something very unexpected... Once I became conscious of it, I realized I have a habit of always raising my chin (when you raise your chin, you can see well even if you open your eyes only a little). I thought I should judge my eyes based on when I had no strength at all, and that maybe I really had weak eyes, but that wasn’t it. It was the first clinic that told me my eyes were normal... It definitely seemed like, from a functional and not-too-strict cosmetic standpoint, my eyes might not actually have a problem. I thought they were very conscientious. (I wish I had gone to a place like this from the start.. sigh) If I go to a few more places and there isn’t a better option, I think I might just have the front part corrected here.
◆ 5. (initials removed) - There was a personal issue, so I deleted the details..! I almost got into serious trouble... Everyone, please avoid places that push same-day reservations...
◆ 6. ㅇㅇㅇ - Cost: high-4 million won range (ptosis correction + double-fold line creation) - My eyes are not the kind that absolutely need ptosis correction, but here they said they charge the ptosis correction fee for correction after double-fold line creation. - They said they would slightly reduce the higher eye and raise the other side to match it. - The reason they don’t recommend reducing it by too much is that if it doesn’t go well, they may have to make an incision during surgery, and at that time the previous line should not be too different so it can look natural.
They kept setting the line multiple times, making me look at specific points, closing and opening my eyes repeatedly. They said the biggest issue is the unevenness of the crease line, and asymmetry is also a problem. They asked how thick I think my current crease line is. When I said it was a little thick, they said they also don’t think my eyes are that thick, so they would match the higher side. I didn’t bring up ptosis correction separately, but they said the amount of correction would be the same as before or, if a little more were needed, they would adjust it a bit more. (They would not do anything like making the muscles much shorter.)
<Conclusion> A fairly normal place that explains things well without pushing too hard. The manager’s vibe and the doctor’s vibe were similar, and it felt less burdensome, which was nice. I did think it was a conscientious place, but if the surgery proceeds as they described, my expectations would not be very high.
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If I combine what several clinics said, The problems seem to be an uneven crease line + the crease line being a little too high, and since there isn’t enough spare skin, double-fold line creation is absolutely necessary, and the eye-opening strength is not the problem. That seems to be the case.
For now, my mind is leaning toward the one where I put down the reservation deposit.. But I’ll probably get one more diagnosis of my eye condition at another major hospital and then make a final decision. (Whether this eye is really suitable for revision surgery? Whether that method is the right one, etc.) I’ll visit the major hospital too and post another review!