I had been struggling with dark circles for 30 years. I had a consultation in August 2022 and had surgery at the end of September. Even in photos from when I was a newborn, the tear trough area was deeply hollowed out, and from high school onward, teachers would worry and ask, "Are you very tired?" because my dark circles were so deep and dark. Life had been so hard that I had no time, no money, and nothing to spare for surgery, and I only finally got it done now. I am extremely, extremely satisfied!! At first I went thinking of lower eyelid fat repositioning + fat grafting, but both the manager and the doctor recommended only fat grafting. They said that if I did lower eyelid surgery, there was too high a chance that my aegyo-sal would disappear and my eye shape would change a lot, so satisfaction would likely be lower. I decided on fat grafting and finished the consultation with, "Please put some into my sunken smile lines too!" lol During the consultation, the doctor seemed a bit tired since it was the afternoon, so he was not especially warm, but on the surgery day and during the second touch-up he was extremely kind lol I also liked that the consultation manager did not excessively recommend other surgeries or anything like that. (I paid a 100,000 won deposit.) The first surgery (fat removal + grafting, with anesthesia) was at 10 a.m. I woke up in the recovery room at 1:30, rested a little more, and then went home. I think I paid the balance right before surgery, finalized the design with the doctor, changed clothes, and went into surgery almost right away. Post-op swelling lasts 1 to 2 weeks. I may be the type who swells easily to begin with, but to anyone looking at me, it definitely seemed like I had had some kind of procedure or surgery. Daily life and activity should still be possible, but since you do not want the fat to go away anyway and you should not laugh or talk too much, I recommend doing it when you can rest as long as possible! The newly grafted fat definitely feels somehow hard and not like my own at first, but over time it becomes softer and more natural. I really did not move my face much, barely talked, and was very careful with skincare and makeup because I was afraid my precious fat would sink away And I also ate more than usual on purpose to improve the take rate! When I went back for the one-month follow-up, seeing the before-and-after photos was so moving because the difference was obvious. It really solved something that had stressed me out my whole life, and I was so happy. The smile lines were actually something I did while I was at it, but surprisingly I am very satisfied with those too! And apparently, thanks to my own efforts, my fat take rate was quite high compared with other people. When I said I was very satisfied, they told me it was still only one month, and that in another 2 to 3 months the fat that had not taken would start to sink a bit. They said that after the second touch-up then, I would be even more satisfied than I am now. In fact, starting around two months after the first surgery, I could see some of the fat going down. Of course, compared with before the surgery, it still looks much fuller and prettier So I booked the second surgery for mid-December, using frozen fat left over from the first procedure, under local anesthesia for the face. The second one was included in the surgical fee, so there was no extra charge. They did a quick design review before surgery and then went straight in. This time I was fully awake, so I was extremely nervous But maybe the doctor noticed, because he put a hand on my shoulder and said it would be over quickly, not to be too scared, it would be fine~ I was grateful Local anesthesia hurts briefly, of course, but after that there is no sensation so it is okay. When they inject the fat, there is this weird feeling like, "Oh? Something is going in?!" which makes sense because they are putting fat in... lol And it finishes in 30 minutes. There is no recovery needed then, and you can be discharged right away. I think I got antibiotics prescribed. The first time there was only swelling, no bruising or scabs, but the second time there was swelling along with injection marks and bruises. So I just insisted to the people around me that I had gotten a skin procedure... The swelling also lasted 2 weeks, and the injection marks plus bruises lasted 2 to 3 weeks too (I think it depends on the person; I swell easily and bruise very easily). I bought bruise cream at the pharmacy and applied it, and fortunately it disappeared quickly. And now, in a few days, it will be three months since the second touch-up surgery! It has been five months since the first surgery. I am writing this while looking in the mirror right now, and from any angle at all, the under-eye hollowing is completely gone. People with severe under-eye hollows will know this: when you lift your head and get fluorescent or overhead light, the tear trough becomes deeply shadowed, right? That is completely gone... I wish I had done it sooner, but what could I do when I only had the time and means now?... The smile lines I did while I was at it improved a lot too, and I am very satisfied with that as well. Maybe because I was careful, the fat take rate was said to be quite high compared with other people, and I personally feel it improved a lot; the smile lines themselves became much lighter, so I am satisfied! They usually say that around three months after surgery, you can think of it as your own fat and it is okay to apply pressure such as massage therapy, but I plan to be careful until six months after the second surgery because I am a scaredy-cat... Anyway, I am very satisfied and doing well right now~ The staff were all kind, and the clinic facilities were clean and good, but the reason I took off one star is that, like other people's reviews, the clinic itself is not large, so I am not sure whether it has the facilities to deal with an emergency like a major medical accident if one were to happen. Surgery is something you never know how it will go This got very long, but I hope it can be of some help to anyone looking for information!
- Doctor
- 오동석
- Price
- ₩1,320,000
- Median for Body Contouring: ₩2,000,000
Ratings
- Doctor’s manner4/5
- Consultation expertise5/5
- Staff courtesy5/5
- Facilities4/5
- Result met expectations5/5