Burning Questions on Anti-Aging Answered by a Top Korean Plastic Surgeon
For those of you who have been following our Beauty Journals or Eunogo TV on YouTube, you may have seen our collaborations with several Indonesian actresses Jessica Iskandar and Jessica Mila. They gave a very special gift to their mothers, an anti-aging plastic surgery makeover in Seoul! Ever since their experiences were shared online, we've received many questions from our followers on various social media platforms. We decided to have a Q&A session with one of the top plastic surgeons in Seoul, Dr. Seo Il Beom from Marble Plastic Surgery, to answer some of your questions on anti-aging plastic surgery.
Dr. Seo Il Beom from Marble Plastic Surgery
This time, we have Roosita, our Concierge Manager for Indonesian customers, meeting Dr. Seo and asking him your burning questions. Let's dive right into the interview!
Dr. Seo Il Beom with Roosita, Eunogo's Concierge Manager
Q: What’s the reason Korean plastic surgery is so popular in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia?
Dr. Seo: In particular, Korean plastic surgery tends to be more detailed and advanced than other countries. As a result, the experience is safer and more personalized, so I think that’s why a lot of people look for plastic surgery in Korea.
Q: Some people are not satisfied with the anti-aging surgery they got in other countries. That's why there are so many customers who have their revision surgeries done in Korea. Are revision surgeries difficult?
Dr. Seo: Of course, revision surgery may have less ideal results in many ways than first-time surgery. Basically, it's hard to predict the results because it's different from the natural state, so even for the same surgery, the duration of the surgery usually takes 1.5x longer.
Q: One of our Eunogo customers had such a concern, “I'm getting older and I want to become prettier, but I'm also scared. I'm worried about the results of the surgery.” How can we ensure that we get the best results from any surgery?
Dr. Seo: Basically, you have to figure out which areas you want to improve and which areas you don’t. Then, the areas to be improved have to be harmonized with other areas to get the best results, so it's most important to do it according to your condition.
And then, the recovery period is also important. Generally, the shorter the recovery period, the shorter the effects last as well. The longer the recovery period, the longer the effects last, an example of which would be anti-aging surgery.
You have to consider it all and make a decision.
Q: How long is the recovery period usually?
Dr. Seo: Generally, for thread lifting, the recovery period is around 1 week. For bigger-scale operations and for those who want the effects to last longer, the recovery period may take 2-3 weeks.
Q: You've seen a lot of face lifting surgery cases. Could you explain the process simply to our customers?
Dr. Seo: Normally for face lifting surgery, there are 3 areas. The upper part of the face above the eyes, the middle part of the face, and the lower part of the face including the neck and jaw.
For example, usually, when you start getting older, the part you pay attention to the most is the area between the eyes. A common area to get procedures done is the tear trough. When you’re younger you have fat in your cheeks, but as you age, the fat in your cheeks sag and the skin around the eyes form wrinkles. These are the three main targets for a mid-face lift. The first advantage of this surgery is that it has the greatest impact on your image with just a small fix. This is why it’s one of the most common surgeries for mid-face lifting.
Q: There are various kinds of materials used for face lifting surgery. Do you have to use materials that remain in your body for face lifting, such as Endotine or thread lifting?
Dr. Seo: Actually, materials used in thread lifting such as Endotine are absorbent materials that will disappear from your body. Usually, it's supposed to disappear completely between six months to 1 year after the procedure. When you get it on the forehead, you can feel it for the first six months, but after about six months, it will be gone. The purpose of them is to keep the surrounding skin and muscles in a position for a certain period of time, so it's made of absorbent material.
Among thread lifting and face lifting surgeries, the ones that use Elasticum lasts the longest. Elasticum is made of silicon, so it can't be absorbed. If necessary, it can be removed. In the past, nylon threads were used to pull up the cheeks, but these days, Elasticum is used because it looks more natural and lasts longer.
Q: Is it possible to do fat grafting and face lifting surgeries together?
Dr. Seo: This combination is often done. In fact, as you get older, the fat itself shrinks. Because the areas where fat has shrunk requires more fat, fat grafting is often done to these areas.
Q: Do we have to do revision surgeries for lifting? How often do we have to get it done?
Dr. Seo: It's not necessary to get revision surgeries even though anti-aging surgeries don't last forever.
We usually use the analogy of a clock. We're turning the clock back with the surgery. But the clock will continue to tick, and one day you'll be back in the same position again.
We usually explain it like this, let's say we turn the clock back by five years. It will take 10 years for me to age to the appearance that would have normally taken 5 years, so you can see the effects of the surgery this way. You can get a revision surgery when you feel like you need it, but it's not a must.
Q: What side effects are there to face lifting surgeries?
Dr. Seo: There can be side effects to every operation. Bleeding, infection, edema, pain, and so on. Basically, it's something that can happen, but even if it occurs, there are treatments that can be quickly done to alleviate these symptoms.
And the most fundamental thing is to make sure that there are no side effects.
For example, when you do face lifting surgery, you may experience a duller feeling in the cheeks. This is actually not a side effect and the feeling will return 100%. For some, it may take longer for the feeling to return, around three months. Some only take about a month. These are symptoms that can vary depending on the individual.
Q: I saw a picture of these side effects before, from another clinic. This person’s eyes became like this after they had a lower eye surgery. Why does this happen?
Dr. Seo: It's a common side effect called eye ectropion. In order to prevent that, there are some areas where incisions can’t be made. Because of this, the results of lower eye surgery may be limited. If you do just lower eye surgery alone, you may be less satisfied. While the upper eye is highly satisfactory, the results of the lower eye are less satisfactory.
The mid-face lifting surgery that I described earlier has a wider area of operation, which can increase the satisfaction of the lower eye surgery itself. With mid-face lifting, you can see simultaneous effects on the upper eye, lower eye and mid-face, and there are lesser side effects. This is why mid-face lifting is more commonly done.
Q: Some Eunogo customers will go back to their home countries two to three weeks after the anti-aging surgery. Will there be any side effects then?
Dr. Seo: After a couple of weeks, there's rarely any side effects that will show up suddenly. I haven’t seen anyone like that yet. For example, some people say getting Endotine in the mid-face can cause inflammation, but if it doesn't happen within a month, it's extremely unlikely. There's actually not much blood loss or anything like that after 1 month.
Before & After Photos of Anti-Aging Surgeries
Anti-Aging Plastic Surgery Q&A Video with Dr. Seo
We hope this interview was beneficial to you. If you have any questions about anti-aging or other surgeries, please send your questions via Instagram DM to Eunogo’s Instagram @euno.go or leave us a comment below!
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