Reason I decided to have surgery<<
First, I lost 10 kg from my standard body weight, and even though my body was thin, my face was still round, wide, and full in the cheeks, so nobody could tell I was in the 40-kg range..^^; (height: just over 160 cm) People always say that when you diet, the facial fat comes off first, but no matter what I did, mine really didn’t go away. Only when I wore fitted clothes that showed my figure would people say, “Wow, were you this thin? You should put on a little weight.” Before that, I had always just looked plump and healthy. So I always chose clothes that fit closely, and I feel like I tried everything. Facial contouring injections, square-jaw Botox, cheek/ double-chin liposuction.. If you just look through a few reviews of injections, you’ll see that a lot of people say they didn’t work. They might help people who are already somewhat slim just fine-tune things a little, but for someone like me, with a round, wide face and plump cheeks, even if I got injections a hundred times, they wouldn’t work And the amount of money I spent on that.. the only side effect I got was severe abnormal bleeding,,, Facial liposuction did have some effect! (I had it done at ㅂㅌㄹㅇ in 2017) Since the fat in my face was removed, it was definitely better than before, but because my square-jaw area and the overall bone contour were both fairly prominent, it wasn’t dramatic. Once I gained a bit of weight, it filled back up uncontrollably, lol, and in the end it became the same again. So I decided to go ahead with contouring surgery in 2019.
2019 One-Type Contouring Surgery <<
Back in 2019, I didn’t have much information about contouring, and I just thought I need to do it as fast as possible, as soon as possible! I was at a total beginner level when I researched it, lol. Since it was my first major surgery, I was really scared and worried... so I focused only on safety and places with no side-effect cases, rather than before-and-after photos. I googled hard and read every part of hospital websites carefully, and the hospital I chose was ㅁㅇㄷㅇ. As soon as I came back to Korea after living overseas, I went straight in for a consultation. At that time I didn’t understand contouring at all, so I just said I really hate how my cheeks are so full, round, and wide, and I want it improved, but not too much, just naturally. The director at ㅁㅇㄷㅇ doesn’t do overly aggressive surgery and focuses on natural-looking proportions, and after thinking about my request, we decided to do only square-jaw surgery. Since he said my cheekbones weren’t protruding cheekbones, they wouldn’t have a major effect anyway. My jaw also wasn’t overly wide or long, so we decided to do a natural square-jaw + buccal fat removal, and I thought the expert must be right, so I went ahead. The result was satisfying, but it wasn’t dramatic. It really just cleaned up the jawline. I was also very afraid of a pointed jaw, so I didn’t have much removed. After that, I also wanted to refine my cheeks and jawline, and because I gained 5 kg ^^ my facial fat came back generously.. I became interested in skin elasticity, so I got InMode and Shurink treatments diligently. After contouring, doing InMode really made my face look incredibly slim and pretty, and it cleaned everything up neatly. (Highly recommend InMode/Shurink after contouring,, it gets rid of minor swelling and little lumps / at least 6 months later)
2022 Cheekbone Surgery Consultations <<<
While getting surgery for my deviated septum and nose, I also had the tip refined a bit and, as a bonus, had my eyes touched up too, but strangely I still wasn’t satisfied with my face. Even after doing my eyes and nose, it still felt somehow wide.. Even if I kept trying InMode and Shurink on the wrong target, nothing changed anymore, so while I was going around looking into lifting and liposuction, I was told at ㄷㅇㅇ that I should consider cheekbone surgery, and after that I became interested in cheekbone surgery and started going around doing online research and in-person consultations. Personally, I didn’t really get along with the manager at ㄷㅇㅇ, so I didn’t get a CT scan or a consultation. Then I came home and thought about it: Back in 2019, they didn’t bring up my cheekbones at ㅁㅇㄷㅇ, and I wasn’t someone with especially protruding or prominent cheekbones either, so maybe cheekbone surgery wouldn’t be effective. I started questioning whether cheekbone surgery was worth it. There were quite a few reviews saying the effect was limited. So I searched a lot for face shapes similar to mine.
After that, I decided to get a consultation at ㅎㅁ, where I had gone to ask about liposuction. At first, the manager honestly told me that I didn’t seem like a case that would benefit much from cheekbone surgery. The director said that because my eyes and nose are on the glamorous side, the face can seem like it has a lot of empty space since the cheekbones are relatively wide. So we decided to get a CT scan first, and when he looked at it, he said that in his view there could be some improvement compared to now, but it probably wouldn’t be dramatic, so he also understood why the director at ㅁㅇㄷㅇ hadn’t recommended it in 2019. He explained everything one by one in great detail, kindly and honestly. I was really moved by how kind he was... He also explained the surgery method, talking about a high-L osteotomy while showing me a model and my CT, and discussed the procedure itself. And there was an event promotion at the time, so the price was relatively reasonable, and the aftercare seemed good. When you come back for follow-up after surgery, washing is really inconvenient, but they had shampoo care. Still, there weren’t many reviews, so I did hesitate a bit. Also, the director didn’t really say things like, “You will definitely see clear results,” but rather put more weight on “dramatic results will be difficult,” so I was worried I might regret it later if I went ahead and the effect turned out to be limited.
Then I had a consultation at ㄴㅌ I watched videos of Director ㅇㅈㅎ from ㄴㅌ contouring on YouTube and got completely hooked lol. The before-and-after results looked very clear, and I liked that they had detailed videos about precautions by stage and post-op care. Here, the aftercare even included shampoo care and LDM treatment (skin care)..? As anyone who knows will know, dermatology LDM care is also fairly pricey. I could also see the director every week for follow-up progress. The aftercare felt really special. The director’s consultation was also extremely thorough, and he explained everything while drawing designs on a pad. That level of detail was a first for me. He talked about bone removal, where and how the osteotomy would be done, whether there would be posterior repositioning? and so on... He explained everything in full detail. He also asks patients to bring a photo of the face shape they want, and I brought a photo I had edited with an app, and he said it was definitely possible, so I was completely won over. I even saw cases where a face shape similar to mine had improved. But even though I had made an appointment, the wait was long and tiring. Still, it was worth it because the consultation was so detailed and satisfying. He’s a bit blunt and the type to only say what’s necessary, and some people seemed to feel he was indifferent or unfriendly. Personally, I liked that he only said what was necessary and only told me what was certain. The director was also very honest. At that time, though, since I was thinking if I’m going to do it, I might as well do all the remaining two types too, I said I wanted cheekbone + chin surgery, but for the chin, instead of T-osteotomy, they recommended a pinless V-line type? a kind of rotational bone-shaving procedure. At that point, the square jaw would also be touched, and because I had a prior surgery in 2019, a revision fee was added so the price became a bit burdensome. I was tempted because the consultation and aftercare service were so thorough, but in the end I gave up because of the price. Also, there weren’t many reviews, which made me hesitate a bit too,, and taking the subway there was a hassle because I had to transfer lol. That was a small factor too. (I was on Line 2, so I had to transfer twice ^- lol)
Then the ㅁㅇㄷㅇ consultation Lastly, I booked a consultation at the hometown hospital where I had had my square-jaw surgery. It was really hard to get the appointment. The hospital had expanded and moved, so it was bigger than before and bustling. I booked the consultation a month in advance, and it was so nice to see the old manager again after a long time. She’s really great at socializing and incredibly easy to get along with lol. It felt like seeing a close older sister after a long time. I was in a good mood throughout the consultation. And because I trusted the director’s skill and the hospital’s safety, after feeling good and then meeting the director too, I was even happier lol. That old affection really pulled me in. Honestly, when people look for a plastic surgery clinic, when deciding on surgery they often want to hear a professional opinion to maximize the effect and improve as much as possible, and if there’s no particular recommendation, they think maybe it isn’t necessary.. But the director at ㅅㅂㅅ didn’t recommend any other surgeries. If you watch this video, it should be helpful: https://youtu.be/3WKAVQMLrR8 Anyway, that made me understand why they hadn’t recommended it to me in 2019 either. I only wanted cheekbones and jaw now, but back then I didn’t know. Here too, they recommended cheekbones and a metal-free reduction procedure (also known as rotational bone shaving) for the face shape I wanted, and since my cheekbones weren’t especially protruding or prominent, they said that if I checked photos after surgery I might feel like there wasn’t much change, but in real life I would definitely see the effect. They did say the effect would definitely be there, so I trusted the director and decided to go ahead with surgery confidently. They didn’t explain the surgical plan in great detail, but said, “I’ll make it pretty for you,” lol. “I’ll shave as much as I can within what’s possible,” they said. You can often see this in reviews, but the director is really cheerful and kind lol. Every time I left after consultation, he opened the door and saw me off. Both the manager and the director welcomed me warmly, and the old affection came back, so I decided to do it at ㅁㅇㄷㅇ. The aftercare includes lymphatic care, and Hi-Light lymphatic care can be received 3 times, while Hi-Light itself can be received whenever you want.
There was no consultation fee for any of them. I’m now about one month and two weeks out from surgery at ㅁㅇㄷㅇ, and I’ll post a surgery review soon