Surgery date: 2022/12/2
(If possible, do it in winter when you can cover your head with a beanie, and do not choose a day that includes a weekend. Because they rest on weekends, you cannot go back later, so you need to schedule it around Monday to make it easier for yourself.)
I came up from the provinces, so it was a bit hard, but to cut to the chase, the people in the lobby were kind (they explained things well) The price is a bit high, but for forehead-bone shaving in Korea, I recommend this place only. No, this may be the only place that can do it.
(I checked estimates at other places and heard explanations of the surgery methods, and it was truly like a horror movie. Here, the price is just a little higher, but the surgical method is realistic; other places are hell. Money is not important, absolutely not! If you do not want your face ruined, I absolutely recommend biting the bullet and saving up more money to do it here.)
Other hospitals say they will open from the left ear all the way to the right ear and split the scalp wide open, but that is because they truly cannot do it any other way, so it is a disaster. This hospital makes 3 small openings in the scalp, inserts a patented drill, and shaves it down, so aside from swelling, there is no obvious sign. Around the shaved area, there is hair loss about the size of one knuckle of a pinky finger, but it gradually grows back.
Surgery concept)
In the frontal area, when you look from the side, there is a large hollow in each person. Shaving means grinding that down with a drill. If the hollow is too large and the forehead bone in front is too thin, it cannot be shaved, so they press it down to lower it; this is osteotomy. (During the process, the bone may crack a little; this cannot be helped, and depending on the case, there are also very rare cases where surgery is impossible.)
The doctor gave off a very expert vibe, and when I asked questions, he explained what was needed and drew up the estimate after looking at the X-ray.
If they say they cannot shave it the way you want, then it is unavoidable because of your own face shape. They also ask whether you can accept the risk even though it is dramatic, or whether you want a safer shaving approach.
After deciding and setting the surgery, I paid the remaining balance on the day and had the surgery.
With sedation anesthesia, when you wake up, the surgery is still in progress. They give local anesthesia in the middle, so you do not feel anything at all.
After the surgery is done, they wrap you in a compression bandage, give you what you need, tell you the precautions, and send you home (since blood collects in the forehead, they attach a blood drain, so it hangs there).
Right after surgery)
But because this is a job where they make a small hole above the forehead and dig around inside the forehead, it hurts a lot once the anesthesia wears off later. In the end, I could not stand it in the early morning that day, so I went to the emergency room, explained everything, got painkillers, and came back.
Still, that evening I vomited too, lol (I had cold sweats + shaking from the pain + forehead pain + vomiting), and it felt horrible, but I got through it with just one thought: it is hell now, and if I endure this pain, I will be reborn as a new me.
Pain varies from person to person, but remember this is major surgery, so you have no choice but to accept the risks.
For 3 days after surgery (they told me to come after that), I could not even wash, and because of the sweat on my head it became sticky and then hard, but time still passes.
After diligent ice packs and going to the hospital, they washed my hair, removed the blood drain, stapled the incisions in my head, and told me to come back later.
Then they checked the progress and confirmed the osteotomy status in my face, and if there was nothing, it meant it went well; if the bone had a crack and some fracture had occurred, they told me to be careful when blowing my nose (you have to accept the risk, right?).
Later they told me to wear the compression bandage almost like part of my forehead, so I did it diligently.
Later the staples were removed, I got the progress update, and I kept up with the compression bandage and cold and warm compresses.
I have regained some sensation in my forehead now, though a little is still missing, but the effect is amazing.
It really is worth the money. However, unless your forehead-bone issue is such a huge complex that you cannot even sleep, do not do it. It really hurts and is difficult. On top of that, I thought I was going to die from the pain that day, and if you schedule surgery late, the hospital closes and there is nothing you can do. (They also rest on weekends, so you cannot go.)
If you have a lot of money, do it. Book a hotel and go back and forth, or go from home to the hospital and back.
The effect was good, so although the review is short, even I think I was pretty tough.
Anyway, I am doing well now, and I just need the sensation in my forehead to return.