My nose is very low, and the alae flare outward a lot, so I have a broad bulbous nose. I’ve been self-conscious about my nose for a long time, so this time I looked into getting surgery, and after doing a lot of online research on places known for doing male nose surgery well, I visited a total of 6 clinics I found.
I’ll write them in the order I visited them. For the first three, I consulted before I knew much at all, so my impressions may be a little biased. As I went on, I learned more and my question list became more specific, so I may have felt that the director consultations were more detailed later on. Please keep that in mind while reading. For example, I asked things like, “At another clinic they said it would be done this way, what do you think?” I think I asked a lot of questions like that. Anyway, I’ll go through everything one by one in detail. I hope this helps with choosing a clinic.
* Also, I was fooled too and thought it was good at the time, but looking back now, there were a lot of things that felt off. I hope everyone takes enough time to think it through.
1. Gangnam Dㅇㅇ / Gㅇㅈ This was the first clinic I visited. It’s also the most famous large clinic. First of all, I was surprised that they use one entire large building. My impression after going in was that there were a lot of Chinese patients, and there were also a fair number of men. And the waiting chairs were fully blocked on both sides, which was good for privacy. That said, the shoulder space might be a bit narrow for a sturdy adult man.
When I first went in and filled out the intake form, there were checkboxes for basic personal information, any notable health issues, and how I had found the clinic. Oddly enough, compared with other large clinics, this place had almost no negative reviews and lots of comments saying it was good... (even in my old post) Honestly, I got the feeling they might use a lot of brokers. Since it was a large clinic, the wait time was a bit long. After check-in, I had a CT scan and then waited about 20 minutes before meeting with the consultation manager.
I was asked what exactly I disliked about my nose and how I wanted it changed, and after some simple questions about whether I wanted a flashy look or a natural look, I waited another 20 minutes or so before the director came in. The director consultation was fairly good. Looking at the CT images, they touched my nose directly and explained that with my facial proportions (eye width, intercanthal distance, degree of brow protrusion, etc.), they could make it look more masculine and three-dimensional in this way or that.
They recommended silicone of about 5 mm, osteotomy to correct asymmetry, elevating the tip with the septum and ear cartilage, and alar reduction. I don’t remember the exact alar reduction method well, but they said that unlike the existing method, the scar would form on the inside and not be visible. At that point I didn’t know much at all, so I couldn’t ask many questions and just nodded along, and it ended simply. I had my first consultation without properly researching things beforehand, and the director seemed busy so it felt like it ended fairly quickly, but the consultation itself wasn’t bad.
After the director consultation, I waited a little again and then the manager came in to discuss the estimate and schedule. But they asked, “How much were you thinking of spending?” When I said I was thinking roughly around 000 ten-thousand won, they said the total was originally xxx ten-thousand won, but if I agreed to take before-and-after photos, they would match it to 000 + 10% of that price. I was a little put off, since it felt like price haggling, but at the same time I thought maybe they were confident in their results if they were willing to take before-and-after photos.
They gave the impression of pushing for a reservation a little, but I wanted to fit the schedule even if I lost part of the deposit, so I booked it and everything moved quickly, including the tests for anesthesia, ECG, and so on. I think the total time until the tests were done was about 2 hours.
What I personally didn’t like: The manager was very kind, but the overly polished words and flirty tactics to get me to book were too obvious... Maybe because I dislike insincere people, it actually made me suspicious. That’s just me being a bit twisted, though, lol
In the end I didn’t choose this clinic, so later I texted to cancel the reservation. They asked for the reason, and when I firmly said I chose another place, they didn’t reply... Anyway, I was satisfied with the director consultation, and as expected from a large clinic, the system was very well organized. I’d say the price was mid-range among the places I visited.
* But seriously, brokers here need to chill
2. ㅇㅈ / ㅇㅇㅅ This was also a pretty famous large clinic, and I heard the director was famous too, so I made a reservation and went for a consultation on the same day. When I went in, I saw a few Chinese patients, and it seemed like the ratio of women was much higher than men. The staff friendliness was average. At first I filled out a short intake form on a tablet at the desk, and there was a section asking which clinics I had visited and which clinics I planned to visit.
First I had a CT scan, then after waiting about 15 to 20 minutes I had a brief consultation with the manager. I was a little surprised because the person who came out looked like someone you’d only see on Instagram. I’m sure it was obvious that I could barely look them in the eye. They asked simple questions like how I wanted my nose changed, and showed before-and-after photos of other patients. They were also kind. I said I had come to see Director ㅇㅇㅅ, and after a short wait, the director came in.
The director explained how the surgery would be done while shaping my nose with a cotton swab. They clearly explained what could be done and what couldn’t, and I liked how detailed the explanation was.
The surgical plan was to build up the bridge with silicone, use the septum plus autologous costal cartilage to build the bridge, and perform alar reduction plus osteotomy to correct the deviation. About the deviation, they explained while shaping my nose in a hand mirror that if they aligned the nose with the glabella, the mouth would look crooked, and if they aligned it with the mouth, the nose would look crooked, so they would adjust it as they went. They also said that if the tip were raised only with ear cartilage, it would sink down after a few years, so they recommended autologous rib cartilage. After looking at other reviews, it seemed like this director prefers rib cartilage. They said surgery could be done without rib cartilage, but it would be hard to raise it as sharply as I wanted. That said, when I asked questions, it felt a little like I was being scolded. And when I asked how many mm of silicone they would use, other clinics all seemed to say around 4 to 5 mm, but here they said they wouldn’t know until they opened me up, which made me a little uneasy.
After the director consultation, the manager came in again. They encouraged a reservation, but it didn’t feel forced. They talked about scarring while looking at before-and-after photos of other people’s surgeries. The total estimate for surgery was a bit more expensive than Dㅇㅇ.
The manager was kind, but kept asking which clinics I had been to and which ones I planned to visit. When I named a reasonably famous clinic, they said a lot of our clinic’s former directors went there too~~ I could guess roughly why they left, but I didn’t ask. The total time was about an hour and a half.
3. ㅇㅇㄷ / ㅂㅊㅇ This was another famous large clinic, and I went because the director was supposedly famous too. Like Dㅇㅇ, they used an entire building, and there were many Chinese patients. It seemed to have a higher ratio of women than men. Here, if you had already booked a consultation, you checked in yourself on a tablet. After check-in, it seemed like the wait for the consultation manager was a little long.
The consultation manager was kind... and there wasn’t anything especially different from the first two places, so I’ll leave that out. After a short wait, the director came in and the consultation began. There wasn’t anything special, and the surgery method was similar to the first two places. However, when explaining the alar reduction, the director drew on my nose with a pen to show where they would cut, saying they would cut from here to here. After the director left, I took out a wet tissue and wiped it off.
The consultation manager did not pressure me to reserve, and kindly said that even if I canceled, they would refund the full amount. The estimate was the cheapest among the clinics I visited. The total time was about an hour and a half.
* But at first they said it seemed difficult to schedule at the time I wanted, then after checking they came back and said they would ask the director for 8:30 p.m. and just made the reservation At first I thought that was good, but looking back now, the price was too cheap, and they were able to book surgery at that time without even checking with the attending doctor? Was the manager really allowed that much authority? Isn’t this a proxy consultation? Suspicious, felt off. In their promotional video, they say they use real-name assignments, but they could just show CCTV, right.
4. Bongeunsa ㅈㅇㅈ / ㄱㅎㅇ It was a fairly large clinic, but I went early on a weekday morning so there didn’t seem to be many people. The staff were fairly kind. After a brief intake form, CT and camera photos, I had a consultation with the manager. The manager displayed my camera photos and explained how they thought I should be fixed, and I really was extremely ugly. While explaining how it could be improved, the manager seemed to have some degree of expertise too. After a short wait, I had a consultation with the director.
They recommended building up the bridge with silicone, but here they recommended custom silicone instead of a standard product. They said standard silicone doesn’t handle a sunken glabella very well, but custom silicone can address it better. However, I also saw other reviews saying they recommended custom silicone, so I felt like there must be some connection with the custom silicone vendor.
They also said the tip would probably be sufficiently supported with septal cartilage alone, and that in 5% of cases they might use donated rib cartilage.
They also said my nostrils were already small, and if they reduced the alae, my already small nostrils could become even smaller, so they did not recommend alar reduction. My nose is quite broad, so alar reduction would make the shape prettier, but you can’t sacrifice breathing just to look pretty, and alar reduction could be done separately later, so they didn’t recommend it. They seemed to prioritize safety over flashiness, which I liked. They also said that people with thick skin, large pores, darker skin, or men may have scars that show more easily after alar incision. Unfortunately, I had all of those. Still, they said they could do a degree of alar tying.
After the director consultation, the manager came in again and explained the custom silicone in detail. When I said I was visiting many other clinics and wanted to decide carefully, they were cool about it and didn’t pressure me at all, just said to contact them once I decided. They also said they could show CCTV for free and told me up front how much aftercare would be possible after surgery. I really liked that part.
In the end I didn’t choose this clinic because of the surgical method, but both the director and the manager were very kind. The estimate was a bit more expensive than the other large clinics. The total time was a little over an hour.
* For reference, when the manager asked where I had been, I listed the first three places, and they said they had used to work at Dㅇㅇ and indirectly criticized large clinics by saying they are places that train inexperienced doctors. I don’t know if that’s true, but if so, that means they have proxies there, right.
5. Sinsa ㅋㅇ / ㄱㅎㅌ This was the only clinic I visited that had just one director. I went because they said they specialize only in noses. Even though it was a one-doctor clinic, I was surprised that there were more people waiting than I expected, and the ratio of men was high. After a brief intake form, CT scan, and a short wait, I had a consultation with the manager. While I was talking with the manager, they showed me the director performing surgery on another patient via live CCTV. That increased my trust. The manager explained how the surgery would likely proceed and showed before-and-after photos of other patients’ surgeries, especially people whose noses were similar to mine. The manager also seemed to have some degree of expertise.
After the manager consultation, I waited a little and then, after the director finished surgery, I had the director consultation.
The funny thing was that I’m confident in my eye shape (large eyes with a good impression), and both the manager and the director said I had good eyes when they could only see my eyes, but once I lowered my mask, they were like ... ah! I had gone there to fix this, so I wasn’t offended at all. It was actually funny lol
As other reviews said, the director was really handsome and the kindest among the clinics I visited. They took front and side photos of me with a camera and immediately edited them in Photoshop to show me how I would look, which I liked. After seeing the edited version, I thought, it’s not dramatically different, but maybe it looks decent...? Then they showed me the unedited version again, and I really was extremely ugly. As expected, the contrast is huge. Since Photoshop was only meant to show the general direction, I didn’t judge based on that alone.
I had prepared quite a long list of questions, and they answered all of them kindly. That said, among the before-and-after photos of other people’s surgeries, there were some results I liked and some I didn’t, so I felt I would need to be very clear about that before surgery.
The surgical plan was to raise the bridge with silicone, and they said the tip would probably be sufficient with septal cartilage alone, but if needed, they could use ear cartilage. They also said the alar reduction would be done without narrowing the nostrils. However, they said they would carve out some tissue inside the nose as well (that also came up in another review), and I planned to ask again before surgery to be sure exactly what that meant. When I asked about the deviation, they said everyone’s face is a little asymmetric, and it wasn’t because the septum itself was bent or asymmetric, so they could align it, but there was no need to do osteotomy. I liked that they didn’t recommend unnecessary procedures. They also told me, as other clinics had, that in my case my skin was thick, so if they didn’t build it up properly, the changes wouldn’t show well, so they would make sure to raise it firmly.
After the director consultation, I had another manager consultation. Here too, the manager was very kind and didn’t pressure me to reserve at all, which I liked. When I said I would visit other clinics too, they just asked me to contact them quickly once I was done. They also said they would do aftercare. And when I looked at the list of surgery reservations, unlike the other clinics with many Chinese patients, there were a lot of Japanese patients.
The estimate was a bit more expensive than the large clinics, but not outrageously so. That said, if I used autologous rib cartilage, it would get a lot more expensive... In the end, I chose this clinic.
The reason was that more than anything, I value trust and honesty, and I liked that they would just show me the CCTV, didn’t recommend unnecessary procedures, and were honest that because my nose is such a severe bulbous nose and my skin is thick, it wouldn’t become a thin, idol-like nose.
6. Yeoksam ㅈㅇㅈ / ㄱㄱㅇ I heard this clinic is extremely famous for male noses. When I went in, I was surprised that literally everyone waiting was a man. I felt the friendliness of the manager, director, and staff was average. That said, I was a bit tired by then, so I wasn’t exactly acting friendly either. I pretended I had only been to two large clinics and was still inexperienced.
But here, for the only time, they didn’t do a CT scan at all. So I found that a little odd, but then the director came in, put on gloves, examined my nose from the inside, and said from experience that I probably didn’t have much septal cartilage. There wasn’t much protruding nasal cartilage outside either... That doesn’t match what the first two places said.
The explanation of the surgery method was very detailed. They explained it while shaping my nose with a mirror and cotton swab. However, even though they said they would have to open it up to know for sure whether there was enough septal cartilage, they hadn’t even done a CT scan and were already saying I would need autologous rib cartilage. And when I asked about silicone, alar reduction, and the deviation, it felt like they were adding on more and more things, including deviation correction, autologous rib cartilage, and a bunch of extras.
After the director left, the manager came in again, and just like the manager at Dㅇㅇ, they asked what estimate I had in mind and then gave an enormous quote, saying they would discount it if I became a before-and-after model. That must be their script. There was also a slight feeling of reservation pressure. When I said I’d think about it, they went, “Huh?!” and asked again, which was a little scary.
In the end I didn’t choose this clinic because it felt like too many unnecessary procedures were being piled on and the estimate was high.
The total time was about an hour and a half.
After visiting 6 places, what I felt was this: If nothing else, I really think everyone should visit at least five or six clinics. Because as your knowledge builds up, your questions become more specific, and comparing different clinics helps you choose the surgical method you actually want. Your own requirements become clearer. That way, the doctor can understand exactly what you want.
And the second thing is the attitude of the consultation manager. I don’t think just because they are a consultation manager, they’ll pressure every single client into booking or try to overcharge them. It depends on the person. I think if they can tell the customer has really been around to many places and really done their homework, their attitude changes a bit. (There was even a manager who checked which director I had consulted with.)
Of course, each clinic may train staff a little differently. So make sure you give the impression that you’re comparing many places and come prepared with a neatly organized question list.
This post is very long, but thank you for reading, and I hope it helps everyone choose a clinic. Let’s all become prettier and more handsome.