I am a woman in my 60s living in Daejeon. Twenty-five years ago, when I was in a situation where I gave birth to my second child alone at a hospital, after the surgery my breasts swelled up like balloons, and I have lived until now enduring the discomfort of excessively large breasts. My children have all grown up and are attending university and graduate school, and after moving and organizing my children's dormitory, my spine hurt so badly that I could not sleep. The next day, it hurt so much that I still could not sleep. I usually had back pain, but it had never been this bad, so after coming home I went to an orthopedic clinic. I was afraid and worried that if a problem developed in my spine, it would be serious and I would become a burden to my children in old age. The orthopedic clinic said there was nothing abnormal, and when I asked whether this kind of pain could occur if the breasts remained large for a long time, they said it could. The very next day, I booked an appointment at a plastic surgery clinic. This is suffering I have endured for 25 years since giving birth to my second child. It is a very large hospital in Daejeon and has been operating for a long time, so I went to **** Hospital near Galleria.
March 7 I had a consultation with a counselor. I said that because my breasts had been large and sagging downward for a long time, my spine hurt, so I wanted to have surgery quickly. I said that because I had suffered from large breasts, I wanted small breasts. I said I wanted them as small as possible. They showed me photos of people who had undergone surgery there. They said some people, no matter how much they wanted it, could only be operated down to a C cup. When I asked whether surgery to a B cup was possible for me, they said it was possible. I said I wanted a B cup. When asked when I wanted the surgery, I said the sooner the better, and that if I could do it even tomorrow, I would. After the counselor stepped out briefly, they came back saying surgery was possible, brought the things I needed to prepare for surgery the next day, explained the preparations for the surgery, and I left the hospital. They told me to come at the surgery time the next day.
March 8 On the day of surgery, the attending doctor came, saying he had to do the design. That day was the first time I met the doctor, and the doctor said nothing about the condition or size of my breasts. Then he drew lines on my breasts with something like a marker and said he would proceed with the surgery. My husband was beside me. The surgery began without any explanation about before or after the surgery. I wanted to ask, but the doctor's expression did not look very good, so I thought everything must have been explained through the counselor. Since the counselor said they were the best at breast surgery in Daejeon, I thought the communication between them would be good and they would take care of it properly.
After the surgery, when I came home and looked, no matter how I thought about it, I felt this could not possibly become a B cup. I could not understand how the bra I wore before surgery still fit after surgery, so I went to see the doctor. The doctor did not mention breast size and only kept talking for about 30 minutes about how it is easier to be active when the breasts are lifted. I did not understand why he was only talking about that, but cutting to the point, when I asked whether I could become a B cup, the doctor said it could be done with liposuction and dietary control, so I came back for the time being. After that, they said there would be liposuction surgery. The nurse who treated my wound area also said there would be liposuction surgery after 2 months. Even if liposuction were done, no matter how I thought about it, I did not think I would become a B cup, but since there was still a follow-up surgery remaining, I decided to wait.
After that, while I was continuing to go to the hospital for wound treatment, on April 11 the hospital called me. They said the doctor was sick and could not see patients, and they did not know when he would return, so I should not call until he came back and should wait until they called me. It was an absurd call, so when I asked, since no one knows when he will return, do I have to wait even a year, they instead got angry, saying what can they do when he is sick. And they said the attending doctor would definitely take responsibility. I said I would record it, so they should promise me. I have the transcript.
I started to think something was strange. If he was sick enough to quit the hospital, it could even be a fatal illness, and I became worried about what would happen to my treatment afterward. When I called on May 11, they said that doctor had quit. (I have the transcript.) At the time of surgery, the doctor was already scheduled to quit, but no one told me, and I began to think that saying he was sick was also a lie to me. In this situation, I was furious and dumbfounded at the hospital's behavior of not taking responsibility, deceiving the patient, and only taking the money. My husband and I immediately went to the hospital and protested. When I spoke with the person who had consulted with me, the counselor asked whether I had not consulted with the doctor. The counselor had never guided me to the doctor, had never arranged for me to meet him, and I did not even know where he was, so how could I meet the doctor? The hospital is a very large hospital occupying 3 floors. At that time, a woman interrupted and blocked my conversation with the counselor. When I tapped the back of her hand and told her not to interfere, she said she was the manager and reported me to the police, saying I had assaulted her. It felt like a threat. The police came, but they did not even check the CCTV, and instead made threatening remarks, saying it could be obstruction of business. They told the manager that if she was going to report me later, she should come to the police station, but the manager did nothing on her own. After the police left, I spoke with the person called the manager and recorded it, by mutual agreement. She asked me to wait until he opened a new clinic. And she said it was a hospital run together by several doctors, but that the doctors had poor relationships with each other. So she said he would leave the hospital and open a clinic in the fall or winter. She said it would be in the Yuseong area. She said that if he opened under the same hospital name, ****, the attending doctor would definitely do a revision surgery, and **** Hospital would also take responsibility. In the end, as we talked, I learned that the doctor had not quit because he was sick, but because the doctors' relationships with each other had worsened. She said that if there were problems afterward, I could file a lawsuit against this hospital. (I have the transcript.)
I began to distrust what the hospital said. I could not believe either that he had quit the hospital because he was sick or that he would open a plastic surgery clinic in Yuseong, Daejeon. That is because plastic surgery clinics are mostly all gathered around Galleria. Yuseong is not really an area where one would open a plastic surgery clinic.
After looking into it afterward, surprisingly, the attending doctor was still listed as working at ****. He was listed as working there, but they were taking no measures and only avoiding responsibility. I called and asked what was going on, and how he could open a clinic when he appears to be working there. Instead, they confidently said why does that matter, and that removing his name can be done quickly. They raised their voice and told me that if I could not believe them, I should come and see whether he is seeing patients or not and look at the promotional materials too. Then when I asked when he would open the clinic, they said they did not know. And they said he would open in winter or spring. (Their story changed.) And they said, isn't it better for receiving insurance if the attending doctor is listed as working there? (I have the transcript.) In other words, I suspect the hospital kept delaying because in the event of a lawsuit, they could just pay with insurance money and had nothing to lose, and it felt like they were saying, sue us if you want. Now I cannot be sure about the attending doctor opening a new clinic either, I cannot believe anything they say, and I have become the victim of a fight between doctors. And the hospital is acting as if it is none of their business. I have had no contact whatsoever with the attending doctor after the surgery. When I contacted a medical dispute office, they said there was a department in charge at the public health center, so after I consulted there and the counselor spoke with that hospital, they contacted me again. I received the response that the hospital said I had unfortunately ended up in a difficult situation, and that since I would have to continue receiving treatment at that hospital, it would not be good to antagonize the hospital. The public health center staff member said the hospital would provide some kind of answer, but there has been no response at all.
Currently, I am still wearing an E-cup bra. Before surgery it was a full E cup, and now it is a looser E cup, but this is completely different from what was promised at the time of surgery, and I still have not received the second-stage surgery that should have followed. I am dumbfounded that I am wearing the same bra as before surgery. After suffering for a long time, I spent a large amount of money on surgery, so why should I be harmed by fights between doctors, and why is the hospital so confident and shameless?
Because of this, I am currently receiving psychiatric treatment, and my test results showed a serious level. Is it the rule that plastic surgery clinics are kind enough to seem like they would even give you their liver, but when they make a mistake, they suddenly change and behave this unreasonably?
If anyone wants the hospital name, please send me a private message. I heard this hospital had many serious problems before as well.
This review is a surgical review pursuing reconstruction.