Thanks for sharing your concerns, I can tell you are not alone and by you coming forward and expressing yourself and your worries will help encourage others to enter the discussion.
That’s the very reason I founded My Seoul Secret was to help solve this problem.
Stacking Multiple Treatments
These are a lot of procedures you are stacking together which will increase your health& safety risk. Before coming to Korea, I would first explore options available in Canada.
I can tell you right now that any hospital that offers to all those procedures at one time, is going to jeopardize your health. Those are way too many procedures to do in one shot, you will be putting your body through tremendous amount of pressure and stress.
If you can stay in Korea for at least 2 to 3 months, then I would recommend breaking up those procedures concentrating on Face for one stack of treatments, and then body for the other. It might be good to break it up into 3 surgery dates separated by 4 to 6 weeks each.
Safety & Warranty
Like any industry, there is always a chance for people to cut corners. There have been clinics using ghost doctors who step in to do the actual surgery, while the senior surgeon goes back out to do consultations. One way we ensure this does not happen to our users is when they manage their treatments through our case managers and coordinators. The clinics we work with are pre-screened and their is no funny business when they know the patient has boots on the ground here.
In our startup’s early stages I have personally watched our users surgeries if they asked me to make sure there is no doctor swapping. Since were are a government licensed medical treatment facilitator we are able to do this. These days surgeries are also recorded by CCTV, some clinics also allow friends and family to watch via an iPad.
Research & Verifying Information
This can be very frustrating. Over the years I met many patients offline while building our startup and conducted interviews with them. Many were what I call “DIY Surgery Shoppers.” They joined underground beauty chatting communities and women’s lifestyle forums, and were often misinformed by a wide range of conflicting accounts and reviews. Plastic surgery is very emotional, a lot of us bring our own complexes and insecurities to the operating table (I know I did). And we are our own worst critics, so reviews can be very subjective. I’ve seen some patients look great and hate their results, and other patients come out so so, and are completely satisfied and feel like they’re ready to be the next top model. Having someone who knows the industry with established clinic back channels to assist and consult or hunt facts for you makes things easier.
Timing is also important. I have seen patients speak too soon, but after their swelling has subsided and all the cell-rebuilding and micro biological processes take effect, they then appreciate their result, but never go back to update their review.
Recourse for Unsatisfactory Treatment & Care
It’s true that patients have very little recourse and options when getting treatment abroad. This why I always recommend to remain calm and always approach the clinic in a concerned but amicable manner. It’s much easier and less stressful to get your issue resolved by working with the clinic, than to hit the nuclear option and make legal escalation or defame a hospital online. This will close many doors and limit options, especially when legal routes end up leading to dead ends, and all bridges have been burned.
But patient recourse options are improving. The Korean government has made an agency for medical arbitration. We have helped one user file a claim with them because the government agency is still limited in English communication, but unfortunately the clinic rejected to enter arbitration. There is a new law that may pass soon that will force the clinic to enter arbitration no matter what.
This is another reason why we suggest for users who are planning complex treatments, to consider enlisting a medical case manager and coordinator because they can help you communicate issues and come to an agreement with a clinic. But choosing a good case manager is also important because there also sub par ones that are simply profit driven or illegal brokers pretending to be translators.
Most clinics offer a 1 year warranty, but it’s good to get this in writing, and again have some boots on the ground here to advocate for your concerns.
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