2 month update, future surgeries?

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Chin

Healing from a chin implant is extremely easy, or at least mine was. I never experienced any huge pain or anything. Actually feeling the implant in your chin is really weird though. Sometimes I would have these odd tingly sensations I mentioned in the previous post. Those went away after about six - seven weeks?

My chin isn't numb anymore but I can still ~feel~ something there, almost like my chin is a bit heavy. I only really notice it when I think about it, during everyday life the bottom of my face finally feels normal again for the most part.

I'm really really happy with the results. It looks natural and the shape is so much better! I would have liked the implant to be a tiny bit bigger tho!! Pretty sure I'm done with my chin, unless I wanna play around with minor chin fillers or something. Leaning towards no right now cause I don't wanna risk messing it up...we'll see

B&A pictures can be seen below

Surgery day + recovery

Finally!!!

When I arrived at LIFE I was greeted by a temporary English consultant. LIFE got her from another hospital so I would have someone with me the day of surgery and for my first checkup. I was given a locker for my bag and then got changed. After washing my face and disinfecting my mouth they took my pictures again. I then had one final consultation with Dr. Kim. We went over everything I wanted and he drew correction marks on my face.

The consultant then lead me into the surgery room and the nurses began preparing me for surgery. I actually don't even remember falling asleep...but I know I was at some point because I have no memory of them doing stuff to my nose. I think I woke up around half way through the surgery? Pretty sure I actually FELT them inserting the chin implant through my mouth, at one point that had to drug me up more! It wasn't that bad tho whatever pain I felt quickly went away. After what felt like an eternity I heard the English consultant talking to me. Surgery was finally over. She helped me up and walked me to the recovery room.

In-person consultations

Back from Korea!

Okay, so this trip had a really bad start. My plane got delayed so I had to try and switch all my consultations to the next day last minute. When I finally arrived in Korea the airline forgot to put my suitcase on the plane...so all I had was my carry on.

They delivered my suitcase to me the next day (at midnight) but still, I had to do the consultations in my dirty travel clothes!!

1) LIFE Plastic Surgery

As mentioned previously LIFE was my first choice. My appointment was at 10 but I got lost (a taxi driver actually dropped me off at the wrong spot) I should have just used the subway from the beginning, anyway I finally reached but just my luck their English consultant isn't there anymore. Since my appointment got delayed, and it wasn't guaranteed I would make it to this one either, they didn't have time to find a temporary consultant for me.

3 days

In 3 days I'm going to be in Gangnam.

I dunno, like I haven't really fully processed everything yet? The past 5 weeks have been pretty crazy so I didn't really have a chance, I only started packing today.

On July 1st I launched a website with my friend which has eaten up a lot of our time. It's an entertainment news website too so we basically always have to be alert and ready to update. I really wish I could spend more time on it but work has been killing me. Thankfully I'll be back to normal part-time hours when I return from my trip so I can finally put more energy into the site.

Do You Need A Translator?

Communication issues are one of the highest concerns with going aboard for surgery. This prompts many people to consider getting a translator to help them out. At the start of my research I was set on getting one, but the more I looked into it the more useless they became to me.

First of all, there are tons of reputable clinics that have fully speaking English staff. A majority of the Doctors also have capable English skills as well, even though you would still be dependent on the consultant with you. If the Korean clinic you're interested in has a English option for their website then they definitely have English speaking staff there. If the clinic doesn't then chances are they don't, there's still no harm in contacting them via e-mail or kakao and asking them though.

My Clinic Choices

LIFE Plastic Surgery is currently my number #1 clinic choice. I have a consultation with them the day after I arrive in Korea on August 11th at 10:00 am. What originally drew me to LIFE was Dr. Sewhan Rhee. As mentioned in the previous post I read many great things about him and pretty much had I mind set on him doing my procedures. Unfortunately he's currently back at Grand right now (LIFE claims there's no relationship between them and Grand, but I mean....)

The way he just randomly went back to Grand is really sketching me out. However, the other Doctor there, Kim Jong Ho, seems to be quite good himself. I haven't read as many reviews on him compared to Dr. Rhee but all the ones I read were highly positive. The communication between myself and the English consultant has been great too, she went above and beyond.

When I originally emailed them I basically got a custom 5 page attachment carefully describing all the the procedures I wanted to get, how they would do it, approximate cost etc. I must have been a lucky one cause when my friend emailed them he only got the standard short paragraph reply!

How Do You Choose The Right Clinic?

Probably the most common question, and daunting task in your quest to do surgery in Korea is well, who will have the honor of giving you a new head. With literally dozens of clinics to choose from all along the same street it can get pretty overwhelming.

Reviews from oversea patients will be your best resource. The best English speaking source for this can be found on a sub-forum of Purse Forum. It can be a bit overwhelming at first cause you're literally gonna have to read through hundreds of pages, but it's kinda necessary. There is no easy and quick way to choose a clinic and you shouldn't want it to be that way. A lot of other reviews can be found on various blogs like livelovedream. Be wary of some blog reviews though, especially those from popular Singaporean bloggers like QiuQiu and Tyler Hikaru.

Their procedures are sponsored by the clinic and is not an accurate representation of what happens for everyday customers, especially oversea ones. That doesn't mean you should completely write off the clinic they visited though.

It's happening

Departure: August 10th 9:00am

Return: August 22nd 4:40pm

I kind of waited too long to book which resulted in a heavy price but w/e I'm really happy with the flight I got.  Air Canada + Air Korea, the departure flight has a 2 hour layover in Vancouver and the return flight has a 5 hour layover in Tokyo (!!!!!!). Scheduled to land at 12:30pm so everything will be open, I was basically salivating while browsing the Narita website there's so.many.SHOPS. I'm afraid I won't go back on the plane. 

Just emailed my #1 clinic choice telling them my arrival date and asked for the in-person consultation to take place on the 11th. Once they reply back I'll contact my #2 choice, so I can figure out a time for their in-person consultation. Now I just need to contact this landlord on airbnb and finalize my packing list.

The countdown begins......

PAPA DON'T PREACH (kelly osborune ver)

On Sunday I had it out with my dad. Right when I thought everything was settled with my parents this little spat happened, it was about whether my mom should come with me to Korea or not. When I first told her my intentions I did offer if she wanted to come, but that was mostly to soften the "bomb" I was dropping on her. I'm not really sure if that worked in my favor or not. Anyway, the entire animosity between the three of us was just so juvenile. I know they're worried about my health and safety which is flattering and all, but having one of them there would literally do nothing. If anything it would just cause more chaos and confusion. Having someone there the day of would be great sure but I'll survive. If in the small chance something goes wrong I'll deal with it because I'm an ADULT!! (the second I typed this mommy came in with my laundry hihihihi)

Anyway, they're finally cool with it now. I expect some more semi-freaking out once it gets closer to the date but nothing like how it was for the past 4-5 months.

On to more plastic related goodness this week I had an epiphany. I...I don't like my forehead. I sent pictures to a friend to photoshop, mainly for fun, and when I was looking at the side profile one of course I looked straight at my nose. cringe and then my chin cringe and then I noticed my forehead....cringe?!?!?

XANAX

Let me try and make this entry without sounding insane.

So, basically the only thing I've been thinking about for the past couple weeks is getting this surgery done. It's always on my mind, ALWAYS (is the chorus of this playing in anyone elses head btw). I just wanna get it over with. One thing that's making this entire ordeal even more agonizing is that I still don't have exact dates for everything. Next month is when I'll most likely buy the plane tickets, book the studio apartment I'm staying at, and confirm consultation dates. Hoping by then I become less restless and more excited. With the dates finalized this entire thing finally becomes real.

Plastic Backlash

I forgot to mention a lot of things in my last entry but the one that's really been bugging me is the telling people part. I had family and most friends covered for the most part but I just remembered about co-workers and friends who I basically never see anymore. I do consider some of my co-workers friends now and I have some of them on Instagram...and by some of the pictures I'll be posting they'll know something is up. Pretty sure I'm not gonna post my bandaged face hours after surgery but I probably will upload pictures of the before/after photos only available to view in person, hospital bracelet etc. This is freaking me out because society still has a very negative view of plastic surgery. My co-workers are good people, I know they probably won't treat me different or insult me but I still can't shake the uneasiness of it all. This also applies to friends and family.

The media can be blamed for this I guess? It's odd how the media sets these beauty standards but when a celebrity or public figure gets plastic surgery they will definitely be ridiculed for it. The only other time we commonly see plastic surgery represented in the media is on tv shows like Dr. Phil or some random TLC program exploiting people who are addicted. Celebrities get attacked for everything though, shouldn't it be easier for normal people? It's not

First World Problems

The past couple weeks have been weird. I just feel so...burned out. This is worrying me because I'm not even back in school yet and I already just feel like, defeated. This is all from a combination of things going on in my personal/work life and stuff regarding heading to Korea. Lately I've been reading a lot of negative reviews for certain clinics and I know it obviously happens all the time but it's still disheartening to see. These aren't just random reviewers either I'm kind of gotten to know some of these people.

None of the negatively reviewed clinics were ones I was currently considering going to anyway which is somewhat reassuring I guess. One of the negative reviews was for a clinic called Chungdam U, known for doing work on quite a few "famous" ulzzangs. I actually briefly considering having a consultation there because I was really impressed with most of their B&As but decided to write them off due to the lack of English reviews and information. Seems like my gut feeling was right cause the girl who left the negative reviews got fucked up pretty badly. I hate that this happened she was a really big help while I was doing my research and I was so excited for her when she finally decided to go with Chungdam.

My Procedures

The main thing I want to get fixed is my NOSE. Noses are...not cool. I'm pretty sure at least 89.4% of the human population needs to get work done on their nose. Whether it be a complete renovation or minor adjustment. All the statistics on this blog are completely accurate you can trust me on this!! It's just crazy to me how a nose can completely change your appearance, hopefully for the better. Blake Lively, Ashlee Simpson, Ryan Gosling etc. are living proof of this.

Why Korea?

For the people that know I'm planning to get surgery the most common question is why I want to get such major surgery done in another country, a non English speaking one at that. I mean...it does sound kind of insane at first but if you're familiar with the internet it shouldn't be that far-fetched honestly. Before and after shots from various clinics have become quite renowned on the internet, especially thanks to popular blogs like kpsurgery. Last summer pictures of women competing for Miss Korea 2013 also went viral. Then of course the hallyu wave. Anyone familiar with that should know what most stars looked like "pre-debut", the wonders of puberty and lymph nodes amirite? This leads to my main reason

1) Korean surgeons are plastic connoisseurs

I mean...

The transformations they do are just incredible. With that being said though any foreigner considering getting stuff done in Korea obviously still has to do tons of in-depth research. For every amazing clinic and doctor there's ten sketchy ones and of course horror stories to go with them. It almost took me a year to settle on a clinic, and I still have a couple backups. I'll probably do a post on that later but I'm just putting it out there!! I'm not that delusional (yet) 

Korean surgeons also have a certain aesthetic that I find appealing that's quite difficult to find anywhere else. When I first started doing research on plastic surgery I started with local surgeons but I wasn't really a fan of their work. The prices I got during consolations were pretty insane too which leads me to my second reason

Intro

Hi

I made this blog to document my journey/progress for getting plastic surgery in South Korea. This blog will cover topics like why myself (and many others) choose S. Korea for surgery, how to choose the right clinic, and other random things but it'll all be related to surgery (probably? it's my blog anyway Whuteva I Do Wat I Want) . I originally planned to get surgery in May this year but that's probably not gonna happen, August is when I'm most likely going to head over.

I wanted a bit of a unique name for my blog so I went with purasuchikkuboy. Purasuchikku means "plastic" in Japanese, I'm a weeaboo ok.