My Plastic Surgery Experience in South Korea Day 0 Banobagi Facial Contouring and Rhinoplasty Post-Surgery: Facial Contouring and Rhinoplasty at Banobagi Clinic
07:21
Day 0: Surgery Day
Today is the day I've been waiting for! I woke up at 8 a.m to double check that I had packed everything and headed out to reach the clinic at 9 a.m. Luckily the guesthouse is less than 1 minute away from the clinic, so I didn't have time to be nervous.
This is what I packed if you're interested:
- Zip up jumper – so I don't have to pull a t shirt over my new nose
- Sleeping pyjama pants – the elasticated waistband is easy to pull on
- Face mask – to cover up my bandaged face after surgery
- Phone + power bank! – without my contacts I'm really blind, I mostly used my phone as a clock
- Slippers – shoes that are super easy to put on
I basically dressed like I was going for a sleepover instead of surgery haha. Luckily there were only a few people at the lobby that early in the morning. My super chic and beautiful coordinator Devon then took me to meet Dr. Lee!
Dr. Lee Hyun Taek, director of Banobagi clinic, is the specialist in eyes and nose surgery, so of course I was excited to meet him. From my pictures, he first suggested lateral canthoplasty but when I met him in person, he said that my eye shape was pretty and he didn't recommend any changes. I felt really happy when he said that, as my eyes aren't the typical long almond-shaped eyes but they are slanted.
Dr. Lee seems like a really trustworthy surgeon to me since he advised against unnecessary surgery and gives his honest opinion. Speaking of honest opinions, he said that my nose was probably the main problem, since it's very short and quite upturned, with exposed nostrils. He drew on my printed photos the type of nose shape he would like to give me, which was a bit more augmented but still very natural. Dr Lee said he would use: silicone for nose bridge, septal cartilage and ear cartilage for the tip. He also advised that my new nose would look a bit bigger and even more upturned than my previous nose due to swelling, but I should expect good results after 3 months. I really like Dr. Lee as he was super positive but still down-to-earth. He won't promise you the heaven and earth but only what is possible for him to do.
After the consultation, we went up a few floors for me to change and wash my face with an antibacterial cleanser. It seriously made my face so dry and patchy, but it's necessary for surgery. I packed all my things into a black gym bag that Banobagi provided and donned the green gown and white slippers, which was probably my most fashionable look to date.
While I was waiting for Dr. Oh, another director of the clinic and the facial contouring specialist, Devon asked me about my expectations. Since the scan revealed that I had severe asymmetry and also a low nerve line, I told her I didn't have extremely high expectations as Dr. Oh couldn't cut that much of my jaw. I just wanted to go from severe asymmetry to like mild/moderate asymmetry if possible, and also to slim down my jaw. I appreciated her asking me that as it forced me to really think about what I wanted from the surgery. Some people may be able to make this transformation:
My second consultation with Dr. Oh was really informative. He had my scans up on the computer to show me what he wanted to cut and what procedures he would be doing, which were: zygoma, angular jaw reduction and genioplasty. He also advised me to lose weight to avoid skin sagging and I promised I would do my best.
Also his English is genuinely perfect! He explained everything with such clarity that I felt less nervous before the surgery.
Devon kindly explained what the different procedures meant:
- Angular jaw reduction: to slim down my wide jaw by shaving off the angle. From my previous pics you can tell that I basically had a 90 degree jaw angle. This will hopefully help it to look more V-line.
- Genioplasty: chin augmentation to correct my short chin. For me, a silicone implant was not used but my own bone.
- Zygoma reduction: zygoma is the arch of the cheekbone that protrudes from the face. My cheekbones aren't high but they are big, resulting in a wide and masculine face. Reducing the size of the zygoma can result in a slimmer face line.
Here’s an example of zygoma reduction from Banobagi’s website:
Devon took me to a room to sign some paperwork, including the use of general anaesthesia and also separate consent forms for Dr. Lee and Dr. Oh. She also gave me a cute bag with my mouthwash, ice packs and information leaflets inside and explained them. Devon also warned me that when I wake up from surgery, I have to breathe out for as long as I can to expel the air from my lungs. The effects of general anaesthesia would be prolonged otherwise.
Here's a snap of the bag and one of the leaflets:
After a brief phone call to the operating room, we were off! During the whole time I was forcing myself to be calm because this was it. Devon warned me that the OR would be a flurry of activity but everyone in there was actually super nice and reassuring, the nurse was even rubbing my shoulders to calm me down. After the IV was put in, I started feeling numb. As the nurse lowered the gas mask down, I felt my whole face tingle and then I was asleep.
After Surgery
When I woke up, I was relieved to find Devon next to me. She told me the surgery had gone well and that we had to wait one hour before I could move to floor 6 to recover. I felt pressure around my face from the bandaging and also on my nose, but it was bearable. Keep in mind that I am genuinely the worst with pain, so it was okay. I did have a this-is-intense moment, because I was just lying there with my thoughts but generally I was glad it was done and I could focus on recovering.
After an hour, the nurse removed the oxygen mask from my face and we walked to the elevator up to the 6th floor with Devon carrying my IV bag. Surprisingly, I felt fine walking and there was a drip stand waiting for me by the time I reached to hold on to. They helped me to my room and onto an elevated bed. It felt great to be sitting up but I was also dozing in and out of consciousness. The ice pack felt heavenly.
The deal with the ice pack is that the nurses will help you change it about 2 or 3 times, then they will encourage you to shuffle off to the fridge and change it yourself, as walking helps with deswelling. The whole night I was like a machine, waking up every 2 hours to drink water, gargle and trundle to change my ice pack. BEWARE OF THE IV DRIP, there was a clear plastic thing that smacked lightly into my nose when I went into the bathroom. After that I stayed like 1m away from it at all times.
Is it difficult to breathe after facial contouring with rhinoplasty?
Since I was staying overnight, my nose wasn’t packed with gauze so I could breathe through it when it wasn’t leaking fluids. Breathing with my jaw was difficult to get used to, but it wasn’t impossible like I thought it was. Before surgery, I was worried that I couldn’t breathe through my nose and mouth but I happily discovered that this was not the case! It was definitely a lot easier to sleep when I breathed through my nose though.
**WARNING POST-SURGERY PHOTOS OF INTUBATION AHEAD**
I have a packet of gauze on my bed because my nose was dripping quite a bit. I also have netting on my head and look like a wrapped up pear from the supermarket.
I think the worst part of the night was the nausea. I kept swallowing unknown substances from my sinuses, which was probably iodine. I ended up asking for a bag and threw up a lot of iodine, and I felt so much better after. Jessie, my co-ordinator with the cutest and smallest face, advised me not to force myself to throw up because it's not good for deswelling.
Facial contouring is a major surgery and the first night is quite rough. I think for me personally, I handled it by establishing a routine of napping for two hours followed by gargling and changing ice pack. This ensured I got to walk around a bit to help with my swelling. However, I wasn't on the level of this other lady who was seriously determined, trundling about all hours of the night with her IV drip. Such an inspiration! Also thank you to my fellow patient from room 12 who helped me take off my ice pack when it was stuck in my hair.
It’s also super important to note that all of the facilities were very clean and modern. The room, corridors and bathroom were all spotless and the huge fridges were always stocked with ice packs. As I mentioned, the nurses were very attentive and spoke English to me, explaining what they were doing before giving me an injection via IV or taking my blood pressure. Staying overnight in the clinic wasn’t a scary experience at all!
So is it seriously painful?
My experience was actually more uncomfortable than painful. The worst part of the night was probably the nausea and dealing with the fluids leaking out of my nose, since the soreness of my jaw didn’t really bother me. I just drifted in and out of sleep, used the mouthwash and changed my ice pack. It’s bearable! I’m really scared of pain normally and I usually tear up when I pluck my eyebrows, but I felt like it was definitely bearable. Pain was about a 2/10, discomfort was around a 7/10.
So that was Day 0! Kind of a rollercoaster, but ultimately I feel it will be worth it. Stick around for my next post!
Picture sources
- Engbanobagi.com
Day 1 Post-Surgery: Link Here
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