Healthy Habits - Korean vs. American Plastic Surgery

I had a chance to interview Beverly Hills-based plastic surgeon Dr. Kenneth Kim about how Korean plastic surgery techniques outperform traditional American techniques.

What are some of the differences between Korean and American plastic surgery techniques?

American is about cutting and pulling, and Korean is more about repositioning. Korean you will be cutting and they will reset all the seams to all the seams of the original sleeve. Rather than relying on pulling, they will reposition it. It will also work on muscle function, the muscles of the eyes will improve. It restrengthens the muscle function. Also, enlarge the eyes horizontally and vertically. 

What are some of the pros and cons of each, especially with recovery time?

Korean surgery is more precise so recovery is much faster with significantly less discomfort. For a facelift, there will be minimal bruising and you don't need heavy-duty painkillers. They don't prescribe opioids.  

Why is it important for people to understand the differences?

Patients should realize that plastic surgery is so popular in Korea even though they are very conservative. Surgery is easy and quick. Patients in the US are subject to longer recovery times, and opioid prescriptions. There hasn't been a big improvement in plastic surgery in the US and many patients don't get a good end result. 

As seen in New You and The American Reporter, Dr. Kenneth Kim is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon practicing in Los Angeles. Dr. Kim was nominated for the Rhodes Scholarship and selected as a University Medal finalist at UC Berkeley. Dr. Kim graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and received the Dean’s Award and Department of Surgery Research Award. Dr. Kim was inducted as a fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He completed his plastic and reconstructive surgery residency at Northwestern University. Dr. Kim was awarded the AO Craniomaxillofacial Research and Development Fellowship at the AO Institute in Switzerland. He is an assistant clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine, a partner of Dream Medical Group in Seoul, South Korea, and a clinical faculty at Seoul National University. He has published numerous peer-reviewed journals and serves as a reviewer for multiple surgical journals. Dr. Kim lectures at national and international plastic surgery conferences on the dangers of general anesthesia, especially how it affects memory. Dr. Kim believes in performing awake surgery without changing patients’ physiology to provide the safest surgery possible. He is a pioneer and a leading expert in awake plastic surgery. Dr. Kim focuses on eyelid, facelift, rhinoplasty, and breast surgeries.