Doctor's Column

"Written again after 7 years: Face Designer Dr. Kim Seong-hoon’s records outside the consultation room"

Seven years have passed. During that time, perspectives on plastic surgery and the way patients ask questions have changed significantly.

While information is overflowing, what is truly necessary for one's own face and by what criteria surgery should be decided have become even more unclear.

Meeting patients in the consultation room, I often hear things like this:

“I don't know if my cheekbones are hollowed out or if my cheeks are sagging.”

“I had nose surgery, but as my face changed, it feels out of place.”

“The corners of my mouth droop, so I always look angry.”

Whenever that happens, I want to explain the causes of those changes one by one.

Whether it's due to volume loss, sagging ligaments, or altered facial flow following the direction of gravity.

However, it is difficult to explain all of that during consultation hours.

That is why I am waking up this blog, which has been asleep for a long time.

Through the Eyes of a Face Designer

I do not try to manufacture a face.

Instead, I read the flow, analyze the structure, and restore balance.

That is why I introduce myself as a 'Face Designer.'

The purpose of surgery is not to create change,

but to achieve the most natural recovery with minimal intervention.

In particular, surgeries that deal with the structure of the face, such as facelifts, forehead lifts, and sub-brow lifts,

must consider both function and aesthetics, and without anatomical understanding, the results will not last long.

I always make judgments based on the following four criteria:

How much the tissue has sagged

What pattern facial movements and expressions display

Whether the incision site can be placed so that it does not leave a noticeable scar

Whether the discomfort experienced by the patient can be explained structurally

Looking at the Patient Before the Surgery

I consider 'whether discomfort has decreased' more important than the surgical result itself.

Rather than hearing that someone has become prettier, hearing "My facial expression is natural now without straining my forehead" brings far greater fulfillment.

I do not perform excessive surgeries, unnecessary surgeries, or surgeries done solely for dramatic results.

I believe that the true job of a plastic surgeon is to help patients understand their own faces and make their own choices.

Topics to be covered on this blog moving forward

Why lifting should only be done when absolutely necessary

Facelift: The direction of the incision is more important than the incision itself

How to structurally explain facial sagging

Introducing new lifting equipment introduced to Korea for the first time

Technical concerns discussed at seminars and academic conferences

Thoughts and daily life as a doctor outside the operating room

Stories that couldn't be fully told in the consultation room,

and explanations that ease patients' anxiety,

I will organize them here one by one in this space.

I will write in the 'language of the patient' rather than the 'language of the doctor.'

Thank you for reading this long post.

– Sincerely, Facial Designer Sung-hoon Kim