Having different proportions of the facial anatomy can have a very big effect on how a person can look. Having a proper facial volume along with the shape and size of the eyes and nose are quite important. The important areas that determine the overall contour of the face are the forehead, chin, and cheeks. This is why some consider facial implants in Korea as an option.
For some people, this could be a beauty complex because these areas are flat or bumpy.
Enhancing facial appearance with filler injections to improve volume of these areas are becoming very popular. Although the effect of filler injection is not permanent, procedure of this treatment is very simple and it does not require anesthesia or a recovery period.
If improving contours of your forehead, chin, and cheeks with filler injection is of interest to you, then naturally you may also be interested in facial implants.
Facial implants, otherwise called facial augmentation, is the process of crafting implants according to the volume you want to achieve, and then inserting it into the area through incision.
In this blog, we will find out more about facial implants in Korea.
Table of Contents
Facial implants pros & cons
While filler injection and fat grafting procedure is not permanent, facial implant has a permanent effect. It may take some time for facial lines to settle and become natural for filler and fat grafting because there are some cases of excessive injection during the procedure. You can expect swelling to disappear for facial implant procedure in about two weeks and your natural line will settle during this time.
The most common material used for facial implant is silicone and it is possible to make this customized for each patient. You can expect excellent facial impression improvement for facial implants. As mentioned previously, incisions are made for facial implant procedure which require more than a week of recovery time to return to your daily routines.
Infection, internal bleeding, shift in implant position, and poor scarring recovery has been reported in some cases as a side effect.
Important factors for successful facial implants in Korea
Surgical procedure must be performed by a plastic surgeon who has extensive surgical experience in the area where you want your facial implant. It is highly important that facial implant not only improves your facial line, but it is also important to enhance the volume of your face as a whole. Using safe implant approved by FDA or KFDA is extremely important as you want to avoid unwanted side effects after the operation. Customized implants that are made just for you reduces the risk of having side effects as ready-made implants are not customized. This is because there could be a space created between bones and ready-made implants which raises the probability of a seroma (build up of fluid) occurring.
It is safer to insert customized implants to match the shape of an individual’s bones and the results will be more natural. Local anesthetics and sleep anesthesia will be performed during surgery, so it is important for an experienced anesthesiologists to attend.
Price comparison of facial implants in Korea & USA
Price for facial implant in Korea is extremely competitive due to high number of plastic surgery performed every year. Because of this, the competition in pricing has intensified, generating many experienced surgeons with rich know-how, while the cost to the patient is kept relatively low. Facial bone contouring surgery cost is low, while the price of facial implant during facial cosmetic surgery is higher.
Materials of facial implants
There are many materials used for facial implant procedure. These include silicone, Gore-Tex and Medpor. Among these materials, silicone is used most frequently.
Silicone
The advantages of silicone is that the costs are low for the material, and there is a low chance of inflammatory reactions occurring. The disadvantages are that it is difficult to fix, and there may be a lot of change in position and rotation.
Gore-Tex
Gore-Tex is a good material choice for facial implants has many advantages. There will be less bony erosion, it is easier to sculpt, there will be less feeling of irritation, and it is relatively easy to fix. The disadvantages include higher material cost, high chance of inflammatory reaction, and high callus formation.
Medpor
Advantages of Medpor is that it has less bony erosion and the hardness of the material makes it feel like its your bones. The disadvantages are that the material cost is high, it is difficult to fix and sculpt, and the inflammatory reactions occurs frequently.
Facial implants in Korea cost according to the type of surgery
Forehead augmentation with forehead implants
If you have flat forehead then you can suffer from having bumpy lines. Through forehead implant procedure, you can increase the volume of your forehead and improve forehead line at the same time.
Forehead augmentation surgery process
Initially, custom forehead implant is made for three to four days to make sure silicone will fit you. When the surgery commences, an incision of 3-4cm is made on the point just behind the hairline and the implant is inserted. The implant is fixed into place and the incision is sealed with a suture.
Chin augmentation surgery with chin implants
Chin implants can be used to increase the volume of your front chin to create a stylish facial line. This procedure is generally recommended for people with good chin length, but suffers significantly from chin protrusion.
Chin augmentation surgery process
Custom chin implant is made for three to four days with a silicone to fit your needs. An incision is made to insert and fix the chin implant. Afterwards, the incision is sealed with a suture.
Cheek augmentation surgery with cheek implants
You can increase the volume of your cheeks and reduce nasolabial fold through cheek implants, which uses implants to lift up the side of the nose.
Cheek augmentation surgery process
Custom cheek implant is made for three to four days using silicone to fit you. An incision is made inside the nose or inside the upper lip and the implant is inserted next to the nose. Afterwards, the implant is fixed into place and the incision is sealed with a suture.
Facial implants in Korea anesthesia
Local anesthesia and sleep anesthesia is used in parallel for facial implant surgery. The whole operation takes about an hour and you will be under anesthesia for the duration of this time.
Facial implants in Korea recovery
After your facial implant surgery, patients are expected to massage around the surgical area with an ice pack to help reduce edema and bruising. Most severe swelling is expected to appear three to four days after the surgery, but acute swelling is generally gone between 1 to 2 weeks.
The stitches are removed after a week and return to your daily life is usually possible after a week. There are personal differences in swelling, however, 70% of the swelling is gone within 2 weeks after the surgery and around 80% in about 2 weeks point. Rest of the swelling is expected to stabilize overtime in about a month
As mentioned previously, bruising is expected after the surgery, but it disappears in a few days.
Recreational smoking and drinking is not recommended for about a month after surgery, as it can cause unwanted inflammation.
Facial implants in Korea before and after
Forehead implants
Chin implants
Cheek implants
