Suk Han Kim, MD

Procedures:

•alar reduction

•hump

•tip debulking w/ rib cartilage

•lateral osteotomy

•incisional double eyelid

•ptosis correction

•lateral canthoplasty

Overview/Concerns:

I had my incisional DES and rhinoplasty in December with Opera. My main concern was that my my alars were uneven and my nose tip didn’t have any structure, and was just so damn wide. My eyes, though they had double eyelids, they were uneven and disappeared if I didn’t have enough sleep, and I just wanted to keep them consistent. And maybe make them bigger too hehe. I decided to do it during this time because I concluded that the 14-day quarantine wouldn’t be going away anytime soon, it was the perfect time to heal with having no one to see, and it was going to be a new year and I needed a new me lmfaooo. I only had a limited time to spend in Korea because I leave right after classes ended and come back before the start of the spring semester. I even took my finals during quarantine because of how tight I was on time. I did my consultations online with a bunch of different clinics before coming to save time. I had strict deal-breakers that were:

1. cost

2. reputation

3. reviews

I actually almost went with Pitangui, but then I started seeing bad reviews, got scared, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s only one surgeon there that does all of the procedures?? Sort of a jack of all trades, but he’s mostly known for more body procedures than face. So I decided it was a no go, and found Opera through a few positive reviews on here, so I decided to consult with them. They quoted me a price within my budget, and I deposited with them. I know it’s highly recommended to not deposit without consulting irl, but I just couldn’t risk wasting time in Korea with my already limited schedule, and so I just did it and crossed my fingers that I didn’t make the wrong choice.

Consultation:

The English translator checked up on me throughout the 14-day quarantine, and helped me out tremendously by being my local korean contact to pass through immigrations at the airport. When the previous english translator quoted me a price lower than what it was set out to be, she helped me get it back to the original price, and helped discount further when I packed on more. Was able to chat with her while waiting for my turn to consult, and felt a pretty strong connection with her. A good part of why I really liked the clinic was because of her I think.

I first took a CT scan before meeting the doctor. Consultation with Dr. Kim lasted ~30 minutes, and I actually quite liked him. He had a calming vibe to him, and was always gentle which I really liked. He told me that my that half of my skull was smaller than the other, which I never knew, and that is why one of my nostrils was higher than the other. One of my eyeballs is also smaller than the other, making my eyes look uneven. I asked if he could make them even, and he told me that he couldn’t really fix the size of my skull, but he can try his best to make the appearance of my face more symmetrical. I ended up switching to donated rib cartilage at this point, but I was sure to tell them I was on a budget, which they worked with me to get me to a price I was comfortable with. After that, they gave me print outs of instructions of what to do before surgery, and I had it the next morning.

SURGERY DAY:

I arrived at 9:30am, took before photos, and met with the doctor one last time to mark me up and ask any last questions. I wasn’t nervous at all leading up to this point, but when I went to the operating room, I got a little scared because nurses were all over, and everything was happening at once. Other than that, it was comforting to have Grace there and tell me what the doctors and nurses were going to do next so I can anticipate. I didn’t leave the clinic until nearly 9pm that night. I remember that I finished surgery around 7pm, and Grace got me some warm water to drink slowly and replaced my ice pack every so often while I rested in the recovery room until I was sure that I was able to walk safely on my own back.

DAY 1 POST-OP:

I’m not gonna lie...this had to be my worst night. All I wanted to do was sleep. There were still side effects from the sedation for my rhinoplasty still in my system, and it only allowed me to sleep for thirty minutes at a time before I had to wake up, rehydrate, wipe my watering eyes, and reposition my neck into a more comfortable position since I had to prop my head up and wasn’t allowed to sleep on my side. I recommend buying more pillows if your airbnb doesn’t have enough, lots of water, and a tissue box to put right by you at night. You can find all this at daiso. Oh, and maybe a friend that can help support you throughout recovery. Every time I got up I felt soooo nauseous and dizzy, and my throat was so dry that I couldn’t even swallow. But I do clearly remember that the symptoms stopped around 4am that morning, and I was able to sleep better after. I met with the doctor again around 10am and he removed the stuff inside my nose and gauze pad underneath to catch the bleeding that morning, and i was able to breathe a lot easier and my mouth wasn’t as dry because of that. A nurse cleaned up the surgical areas a bit, and then I had light therapy for twenty minutes after. My eyes wouldn’t stop watering and leaking tears, so Grace went with me to buy two prescription eyedrops at the pharmacy in the same building. I then went back to my airbnb, and ordered food through an app called coupang eats, which has it delivered to your address in less than an hour. I wasn’t feeling hungry at all, but I hadn’t eaten since the night before my surgery, and it was recommended to take my medication after eating. In terms of swelling, I was a 9/10. for my eyes, and a 6/10 for my face overall.

DAY 2 POST-OP:

When I first woke up I looked a 7/10 for face swelling with my cheeks taking the brunt of it, and my eyes were a 10/10 with them being the most swollen it’s been throughout recovery. The eyedrops that I had to take 4 times a day was able to clear my ready eye problem by the next day. And when they say to make sure to walk every day to deswell omg they really mean it because when I finally got off my butt this day and left my airbnb to have dinner with a friend, by the time I got back and checked myself in the mirror my swelling went down significantly, and my eyes that I could barely open could now open twice as big since that morning. I highlyyy recommend having a friend with you, either one you brought or it can be one you met from PF, because hanging out and grabbing meals with a girl I befriended on here was what motivated me to get out and not only deswell, but also enjoy the city and what it has to offer.

DAY 3-6 POST-OP:

These days are kind of the same really, just took my medication as instructed and continued to deswell. I started developing yellow bruises under my eyes starting on day 3. On the 5 day is when I finally began to be able to breathe through my nose again, and my nose wasn’t as runny as the previous days. This was also the day I came back in for light therapy. Usually you would go back in for another session either on day 3 or 4, but since both of mine happened to land on Christmas and the next on a Sunday, both of which the clinic was closed on, I had to delay it until day 5.

DAY 7 POST OP:

Be warned lol, this was the most dramatic day out of the entire process. I was chill and without worry on my mind all the way up until this point, but when the time came to remove the cast and see what my nose really looked like...I kind of freaked out. The removal of the sutures was the most painful thing throughout the entire procedure like everyone says, but when I looked I took a look in the mirror, I was alarmed! Of course the nose isn’t how you’d expect it to look when the cast first comes off and everyone tells you to patiently wait for the final results...but I truly wasn’t prepared for this part. My bridge was tall and blunt, while my tip was high and pointy. Paired with my still very swollen eyes, I couldn’t even recognize myself.

I finished my light therapy and made my way back. When I finally came back to my airbnb reality really hit me hard. I was genuinely scared. I had a mental breakdown to my english translator, and she assured me that it was just swelling, and to just trust the process. I was still panicking, so she had arranged for me to see the doctor the same day. Even though I was an hour and a half late than when I said I would come, Dr. Kim still took time before his surgery to calm me down and assure me that I don’t have to worry so much. I thought that was very nice of him. He showed me just how big the implant was, and how it wasn’t even inserted in the spot that I was most concerned was too high, proving that it was just swelling. And for my tip, it should drop as it heals, but it’ll take some time because it’s only been a week since my surgery! Grace showed me pictures of other clients and how their noses settled down and wasn’t so high and pointy, which made me feel a lot better. Dr. Kim told me that if I truly don’t like it after waiting a bit, then he can remove the implant, but told me that regret after removal was high among those who do choose this option. So just wait and be patient to see the results. I finally calmed down and he was able to return to his surgery that I delayed. And guess what! The tip did drop the very next day, and it continued to drop as the days progressed!

DAY 14 POST-OP:

This was the supposed to be my last check up with my doctor before flying back home. However, after careful consideration for the past week, I made a very difficult decision to go through with the silicone implant removal.

Yes, my nose objectively was shaped very nicely, and the doctor made it very pretty. And yes, everything that the nurses and doctor said would happen did happen. My tip dropped and my bridge wasn’t as blunt and tall as when I was first initially concerned. The doctor made my alars even like I requested and my nose was slimmed down overall. I thought and still think Dr. Kim is a very talented doctor, the only problem was the nose just wasn’t for me personally. It was too mature looking for for my tastes, and for the cute and youthful style I was going for, which I admit I could have properly conveyed a bit better to the doctor.

I addressed my concerns to Dr. Kim, and he urged me to think about it seriously four times over! Do I really want this? Am I certain I won’t regret it later? He carefully laid out my options for me. I could go home with a still perfectly nice nose, and if I truly did not like it after six months to a year I could come back and they could revise it free of charge. Or I could remove the implant now, but settle with a slightly wider nose and significantly less projected nose as a trade off with the risk of me still not liking the nose after. By this time I was certain I was going to go through with revision, and surgery was available for me that day since I had not eaten or drank since the afternoon prior.

I was whisked to the operating room and the next thing I knew...everything was done. The conversation I had with the doctor was still fresh in my mind, but my nose clearly felt different. I throughly checked the height and shape of my nose, as well as the tip and projection. I was very happy that Dr. Kim addressed my concerns that I was instantly able to see gone. The best part was that he also reshaped the rib cartilage so that it wasn’t so high but still slimmed and gave structure to my nose tip that my original nose didn’t have before. I woke up a very happy patient.

DAY 7 POST-OP ONCE AGAIN:

This is when I got my bandages removed for the second time. I didn’t have a cast this time around but rather tape to compress the swelling down. The stitches removal of course hurt the same bit as last time, but overall bearable. during this week My nose and tip slimmed down that I was able to note more since I didn’t have a cast blocking my view from my nose. The tip is still very hard, and I don’t know how it’ll feel in after recovery since it is rib. And the height! It was perfect! Back to my original height, I guess all I really needed for the bridge was the oseteo and hump removal. It just took a lot to figure that out for myself. My eyes by now have already healed well, there is still a slight unevenness between the two, maybe from swelling, maybe from the fact that my eyes were uneven and had differing ptosis to begin with.

Overall, I’m just really happy with the results since it looks natural to me but I can definitely tell a difference through photos. I look a lot more photogenic and don’t have to wear makeup to feel pretty! I can’t express how much I appreciate Grace and Dr. Kim for accommodating to my needs and concerns while I was there, and the time they spent to reassure me that everything would be ok. Again, what everyone says is true! You’re gonna look at your doctor when they take off your cast like...do you seriously think this will looks ok...but you’ll have to trust the process as hard as it may seem. I still truly don’t recommend revision so soon even after going through with it myself. But after careful analysis and a thorough conversation with my doctor, I was able to conclude that it was necessary for my case.