Day 22 Review of My Experience at DA Plastic Surgery (Face/Neck Lift + Zygoma Reduction + Eyes)
Procedures + Cost
Face/neck lift
Platysmaplasty
Zygoma reduction
Upper blepharoplasty
Ptosis correction
Under-eye fat repositioning
Fat transfer to forehead and temples
Rejuran Healer
Total cost was 26 million KRW
Since this was such an extensive combination of surgeries, I was honestly very nervous about traveling overseas for it. Reading Reddit reviews beforehand really helped me prepare mentally, so I wanted to share my own experience.
Arrival + Consultations
The clinic picked us up directly from the airport and dropped us off at AC Hotel. I specifically chose this hotel because it was only about a 7-minute walk from DA, which made follow-up visits much easier.
That evening, I received a text from one of DA’s staff coordinators, Stan, letting me know he would meet me at the hotel the next morning. As promised, he arrived on time and walked us to the clinic for my scheduled consultations.
At the clinic, we also met Ellen and Eric. All three helped with logistics, paperwork, translations, lab work, CT scans, and coordinating appointments. Having coordinators available throughout the process made everything feel much less overwhelming.
I met separately with my facelift surgeon, contouring surgeon, and eye surgeon. All of the doctors were kind, professional, and never made me feel rushed during consultations.
Surgery + Overnight Stay
Surgery was scheduled for the following morning at 10 AM, and I was asked to arrive at the clinic by 9 AM. Stan met me that morning and walked with me to the clinic.
I was definitely very nervous once I got into the operating room, especially when they started the IV and connected me to all the monitors. My blood pressure was much higher than usual.
My eye surgeon came in first, and after that everything became a bit of a blur. They had explained beforehand that I would need to stay awake briefly during part of the eye procedure so the doctor could check symmetry by asking me to open and close my eyes. That’s honestly all I remember before the anesthesia fully took over.
The next thing I remember was waking up from general anesthesia while my hair was getting caught and pulled against the tight headband and bandages. I remember that being surprisingly painful, and it was honestly the only pain I distinctly recall during those hazy post-op moments.
After surgery, I stayed overnight at the clinic. The nurse on duty checked on me regularly, replaced my ice packs, and there was a call button by the bed if I needed assistance at any time. She was kind and attentive, though somewhat hands-off. When I needed to use the bathroom, I called for help and she accompanied me there, but I still had to get out of bed and walked on my own.
Stan also came in on Sunday morning to help with my discharge even though the clinic was technically closed that day. He had even picked up my prescriptions the day before since the pharmacy would be closed Sunday. He arranged transportation back to the hotel and carefully reviewed all of my post-op instructions with me.
Recovery + Post-Op Care
Recovery has definitely been challenging. The first 2–3 days were by far the hardest both physically and emotionally. Surprisingly, my bruising was fairly minimal considering the amount of surgery I had done, but the swelling has been significant, especially from the facial contouring and fat grafting procedures.
Post-op care included daily de-swelling treatments as well as hyperbaric oxygen chamber sessions, which I did three times during my stay. They even washed my hair on day 4, which honestly felt amazing after surgery.
Over the following two weeks, I had several follow-up appointments with my surgeons, and I met with each doctor twice during my time in Korea. They were all super nice and reassuring.
Eric regularly texted me to see how I was feeling throughout recovery, which I really appreciated. Blair was also one of the translators during my final doctor appointment, and she was very kind and friendly.
The only small negative for me was some confusion immediately after surgery regarding who my primary translator/contact person would be during recovery. After discharge, I didn’t see Stan or Ellen again in person during the remainder of my stay, so initially I wasn’t know who to contact regarding translations for upcoming appointments.
In the end, there were translators available during every follow-up appointment, so my concerns turned out to be unnecessary. However, I do think having that process explained more clearly ahead of time would help reduce anxiety for international patients.
Final Thoughts
I’m currently only on day 23 of recovery and still have quite a bit of swelling, especially around my eyes, but I’m gradually looking and feeling better each day, so it’s still too early for me to comment on my final results. My scars are also practically invisible already, though I’m still applying scar cream just in case.
After returning home, I requested a screenshot of my CT scan and Ellen promptly sent it to me, which I really appreciated.
Overall, I’m very grateful for the attentive care and smooth coordination throughout such a complex surgical journey abroad. Once more swelling goes down, I’ll hopefully post an updated review with more photos.