V.LIF Plastic Surgery aims to provide their patients with the safest and most comprehensive care through their team of expert surgeons and professionals. V.LIF Plastic Surgery is the top practice for all of your Facelift, SMAS Facelift, and Forehead Lift needs! We look forward to welcoming you to our practice located in the heart of Seoul, South Korea.
Hello everyone, I am here to post my experience with Dr. Shim at VLIF plastic surgery in Seoul, South Koreaa, where I underwent a lower rhytidectomy and platysmaplasty. 1.) Background: I am a late 30s caucasian male who wanted to improve my jawline, mid to lower face and double chin. This has a hereditary element but became more prominent with age. Fillers and the like were not able to achieve what I wanted. I was not looking for a drastic change; I just wanted to look like a better – and less tired looking – version of myself. This was also not my first plastic surgery; I had a rhinoplasty several years prior to address a deviated septum. 2.) Months leading up to the surgery: I live in Asia so I knew that I was going to have the operation in South Korea given the close proximity and the good cost-to-quality ratio of many of the clinics there. I did a lot of research on different clinics and surgeons, and Dr. Shim at VLIF was one of the several choices that made my short list. I shared my pictures and discussed what I wanted to achieve with their consultants (ever-helpful Bella and Amy) via WhatsApp, and they explained Dr. Shim’s suggestions with price quotes. The prices at VLIF were not the cheapest of the clinics I researched but were not the most expensive either. However, when getting elective surgery on your face it is not the time to hunt for bargains; you want the most skilled and experienced surgeon possible within your acceptable price range. Given the positive reviews on Dr. Shim’s skills and experience, I opted to go with him. Full disclosure… VLIF offered a small discount for writing an honest review, but I am under no obligation to write a positive review – just an honest one. I was planning on doing this anyway, so I was happy to oblige. This kind of arrangement is very common in South Korea, and if you start shopping around it’s likely that you will be offered the same thing. (more to follow in replies) Updated on 2 Jun 2024: 3.) Day before the surgery: I arrived in Seoul and went into the clinic the day before the surgery for the required blood work and to take before pictures. The clinic is conveniently located in the Gangnam area in the center of Seoul. It was very easy to locate and the inside was clean and professional looking. When I arrived the receptionists politely directed me to take a seat and wait for my appointment time. 4.) Day of the surgery: On the day of the surgery I headed back to the clinic in the early morning (do you know how hard it is to do a pre-surgery fast in Seoul when your hotel is next to a Korean BBQ restaurant emitting the delicious aroma of cooking meat?!). I finally got to meet with Dr. Shim to discuss what he would be doing and to put markings on my face. He spoke English well but the consultant translated everything just to make sure that I fully understood everything. Although he had already reviewed the pictures that I shared via WhatsApp, upon seeing me in person he suggested that I might also benefit from a platysmaplasty, which was not a part of the plan originally. I didn’t even know what this was, but he explained that it was a complementary procedure to tighten the platysma muscles i.e. to reduce the appearance of a double-chin. It was not that much of an increase in price so I decided to follow his suggestion and get everything done at the same time. I’m glad that I did. After the final consultation it was time to begin the surgery. I was a little nervous at this point and I appreciated how both Dr. Shim and the consultant reassured me that everything was going to be fine. Thanks to their encouraging words I was able to stay calm. They led me into the operating room where the nurses laid me down on the operating table and put in the IV drip, etc. The consultant was there the entire time explaining what was happening. Eventually they administered the anesthesia and I felt myself slip away into unconsciousness. I woke up several hours later, groggy and trying to remember where I was. When I finally had my wits about me the consultant was there to inform me that everything had gone as planned without any issues. She explained how I was to take care of myself over the next couple of days including the dosing of the medications they provided. She also reminded me that she was available via WhatsApp should I need anything before helping me call a taxi back to my hotel. Updated on 3 Jun 2024: 5.) Weeks following the surgery: The day following the surgery I was swollen but not badly bruised. I was given mild painkillers along with some other oral and topical medications but actually there was not that much pain. The most painful part was the thin plastic tube that had been inserted through one of the incisions to allow subdermal blood and fluids to drain into a plastic bag, but that was more of an irritating/annoying pain than anything excruciating. It wasn’t anything unmanageable. Two-days post-op I went back in to have the staples and the above-mentioned tube removed. Dr. Shim assured me that everything was looking good and to just rest over the next several days. No problem – I had plenty of Netflix to binge. Also, no alcohol allowed for several weeks. Bummer. This was also when I really started to bruise. Especially under my eyes, everything developed a deep purple color, which eventually turned to yellow before fading over the course of two to three weeks. I would say that it took about two weeks before most of the bruising was gone. In addition to the bruising, I also had scars to deal with. There was one under my chin and more on either side of my face along the hairline on my temples. They were not terrible, but pink and noticeable if you looked closely. Fortunately, they were not in very conspicuous places and I was able to hide them with my hair and facial hair. I was instructed to religiously apply scar gel and sunscreen to them multiple times a day, which I did, and continue to do. Updated on 4 Jun 2024: 6.) One month post-op: Roughly one month post-op I revisited VLIF for a checkup and to take some after pictures. They also offered to do some laser treatments on the scars to speed up healing. If you live in Seoul they will offer this more frequently, but it was time for me to leave the country and go home. Dr. Shim was very pleased with the progress, and so was I. The result was a noticeable improvement while still looking natural. I had been clear from the beginning that I did not want an extremely tightly pulled-back look and I was happy that this was avoided. I was also glad that I followed Dr. Shim’s suggestion and went with the platysmaplasty because in my opinion this made a significant impact on the overall outcome. By this point the bruising was healed for the most part. The pinkness of the scars persisted for some time after this, but like I said, they were not very visible since they were under my hair.
My surgeon was Dr. Shim and he has help bring out a more confident and happier me through the combination of a mini-face, neck, and brow lift. I still have a long ways to go before I can see the full result, but I can already tell that my face has the definition I have always dreamed of <3. And to think its only going to get better with time, its a gift that keeps on giving. And while it was an extensive and invasive procedure that I had received, how quickly and well I recovered post-surgery/ back on my feet made me regret not finding V.LIF sooner. I definitely lucked out having Dr. Shim lead the surgery, but also to have such a wonderful team to guide me from start to finish. I cannot highlight enough how amazing everyone was, but especially Amy and Bella who were my English/Korean Translators. They went far and beyond just care, they gave me so much love. And I genuinely believe they were what made my recovery so swift. Because a big surgery like this isn't just a physical one, it definitely involves an emotional journey as well. I cant forget to mention SuJin and many other nurse techs (?) who did all my incisional care. V.LIF is blessed to have such outstanding members. Dr. Shim have you thought of giving your team a raise? And for anyone wondering if this is the right hospital for you, it is. But if you need to see for yourself, consultation is free and it only takes a bit of your time to initiate that first step in finding a happier you.
Thankyou Dr Lee. Great facelift which has taken off 20 years without a doubt the perfect V lift! My result is improving my the day which is remarkable given how quickly the surgery went! The consultation started on WhatsApp from Australia and continued to be informative and helpful. I was very impressed with the overall results of the clinic and the staff were very friendly
My Result started collapsing at week 6 while the clinic kept insisting it will tighten up after 6 months. Now it has been 8 months and it honestly looks bad. I gave them my picture before I had facial implants removed and they thought I wanted to look like an Insta Model lol. I had a lot of excess skin due to implant removal, but they should have asked for my younger picture or something because that’s how a facelift is done. It should reposition and reshape your face to former look. Additionally, they did not look at the face in detail. There was more skin on one side and they did remove the same amount of skin on both sides. The scars are not that bad - but they cut into the hair line and i need to get hair transplants on some parts. I was planning that anyway, so it doesn’t bother me too much. They under correct while cutting the alignments and doing a very invasive facelift. In my opinion, it’s not worth it for what you pay… It’s very factory like although they try to make it seem like the opposite. Dr Shim took about 5min to look at my face and completely disregarded the pictures. There are way better facelift clinics around, if you’re fine with nasolabial folds and jowls after a facelift - and a wobbly jawline, you’re ok with them. Let me tell you that the lift keeps collapsing every month more and by now I don’t even have 50% of the result left. Im getting a revision soon, but definitely not at this clinic
I had a deep-plane facelift with a platysma plication, endoscopic forehead lift (also called a brow lift), and a lower blepharoplasty all at one time at VLIF Plastic Surgery. I am now 9 weeks post-op and am very pleased with the results. This combination of surgeries for a 54 year old makes a world of difference, it really does take 10-15 years off my aged face. The clinic/hospital has a wonderful English consultant on-staff, who schooled in an English-speaking country, so there was absolutely no language issue. I had been to a consultation at another hospital in Seoul, in which I had to bring my own Interpreter. The consultation was with my interpreter, and I had none of my questions answered. This was not the case at VLIF, Bella their on-staff English consultant was fantastic. She stays with you from your first consultation, through the surgery day and for all of your follow-up appointments until you're completely done all of your visits at the hospital. As the weeks pass, my face is improving regularly. My bruising is gone. I still have some swelling, especially around the eye area, but that is expected. I highly recommend the surgeries and VLIF. The cost was less than one third of the price in America and you also get a tax refund at the airport when you leave the country. Another great thing is that Korea is really safe, if you are travelling alone.
