I Was About to Leave Work......

I really felt the power of this community. So many people showed interest in something I wrote casually....... The reason I posted was that I, too, read many posts through this community and used them as a basis to consult at several places before surgery. I was also very disappointed, and in some cases I felt that some clinics were advertising surgical methods in ways that seemed exaggerated to an ordinary person. And my experience is not meant to advertise any hospital. Moreover, that director is in Gwangju Metropolitan City, not Seoul. Some of his surgical patients are from Seoul and Gyeonggi, but most are from that local area. After coming back to this community after several months, I saw that recently there were more posts expressing some disappointment after facial contouring surgery than posts saying things went well and they felt good, so I posted in the hope that people would take this into consideration before surgery. Before my younger sibling's surgery, as an otolaryngologist myself, from the patient's side and also from the guardian's perspective, I worried about “which doctor should perform the surgery?” and “which method would be good?” Without saying that my sibling was going to have surgery, I sought advice from many plastic surgeons I usually know (about concerns or wishes from the surgeon's point of view during cheekbone surgery, the actual effect, etc.). After that, because I could not meet the director who would perform the surgery often, we exchanged emails more than about 7 times. From one doctor to another, he explained well-performed and poorly performed surgeries using X-ray images, so I made the decision. Before surgery, my sibling and I had confidence in that director and proceeded with the surgery, and the result was also extremely satisfying to both of us. Based on what I heard from doctors I am close to, I decided on the basic surgical methods that should be received. For the cheekbones and square jaw, first, I considered it most important to absolutely avoid burring surgery (shaving bone), and after square jaw surgery, to choose a hospital that performs resection in which the osteotomized bone fragment can be visually confirmed. For the cheekbones as well, because the lateral cheekbones cannot be reduced with burring surgery, it had to be a hospital that performs osteotomy (surgery that cuts bone). Also, I was told not to judge only by the visible appearance after surgery, but to take X-rays with Water's view and zygomatic arch view and confirm for myself. --In other words, from the perspective of doctors who perform osteotomy, shaving bone is considered a beginner-stage technique in facial contouring. Burring surgery has frequent recurrence, has limits in how much it can reduce the bone (meaning undercorrection, somewhat insufficient to feel the effect), and can easily cause asymmetry on both sides. During surgery, swelling is severe, so the size of the bone fragments being removed depends on the operator's and patient's sense and cannot be confirmed. In many online reviews as well, many people said they could not feel a major difference compared with before surgery. Second, a drawback of conventional cheekbone reduction osteotomy is that even if the surgery goes well, as subcutaneous fat severely atrophies with age, the area between the front and side of the cheekbone can appear to bend sharply. This sometimes occurs when the cheekbone body (the middle between the front and side) is osteotomized in a straight line and the width is reduced a lot. In addition, anterior cheek sagging occurs when the buccal fat pad is exposed. If the body osteotomy is performed high, this can be prevented in advance by elevating the periosteum higher than in a typical surgery. Also, in conventional surgery, even if the bone is accurately osteotomized, it is fixed with a metal plate, or doctors who perform a scalp incision do wire fixation (wiring) in front of the ear and at the lateral cheekbone area. In that case, to reduce the lateral cheekbone, bone must be in contact with bone, so there is a limit to reduction. As one of the most important factors, and this applies not only to double eyelid surgery but also to all surgeries including the nose, when the surgery time is short, swelling is generally less from immediately after surgery than when the surgery time is long, and recovery is generally faster. Also, from a doctor's perspective, surgery time becomes much shorter when the doctor is experienced rather than doing it for the first time or being a beginner in that surgery. As seen in reviews, I think a doctor who can perform square jaw surgery in a shorter time using the same method should be prioritized over a doctor who takes five hours, even if it costs more. The truly important reason I posted was not for advertising purposes, but in the hope that people would consider good methods and think it over once more before surgery. Since the director who performed the surgery also does not want the hospital name posted in this community, I will not post the hospital name. It is a hospital located in Gwangju Metropolitan City, and that director presented “a new method of cheekbone reduction surgery” at the 2006 international conference (OSAPS). For those who sent me private messages, I will send the hospital name again sometime today. In any case, I hope everyone planning surgery gets good results. Later, based on the email contents I received from that director about his surgical method, I plan to post again about desirable surgical methods as well. With X-ray images too. Please make sure to look at X-ray images and receive an explanation rather than relying only on camera photos before and after surgery.