I got new boobs in Seoul, Korea… details from why and how I chose my clinic to getting perfectly shaped D cups..

When I was in my 20’s I went through a phase of wanting boobs.. BIGGER BOOBS than what I had.  I always had a pretty small upper body which was great for modeling and fitting into tiny little clothes I couldn’t get past my hips.  Then the phase passed and I became ok with my body.  I just dealt with the things most women face when getting dressed up, what bra do I wear with this outfit?  How often will I have to tug on my undergarments so it doesn’t end up around my waist only for it to look “ok”? It was official, I wanted boobs.. jugs, knockers, tits, watermelons.. whatever you feel comfortable calling them. 

Fast forward to the next decade.  Now that I’m in my 30’s I feel like I’ve grown up and realize I make my own decisions and don’t need the acceptance of people that have never made my life decisions in the first place.  I know that what people think plays a big role in a lot of what we do, and I’m guilty of it.  For awhile I didn’t want to admit that I still kinda wouldn’t mind bigger boobs.  But it was also a little scary if I’m honest, to think about something foreign being inside my body.  All the initial thoughts of the bad would creep up in my mind, but then all the positive thoughts started to override the negatives.  Technology has improved so much since implants first came into the market several decades ago and I figured now was the best time to make the move.  

 

{getting to know JW Cosmetic Surgery}

 

I went to a brunch hosted by JW Cosmetic Surgery where they educated a small group of us on their specialties of their new location.  They’ve been around for almost 20 years but recently moved to a shiny new location in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea.  Their highlighted areas of expertise (but not limited to) are breast augmentation, anything with the eyes such as blepharoplasty, and rhinoplasty.  We sat down with one of the consultants who showed her own before and after pictures of her breast augmentation and a tinge of jealousy came through because her boobs were GORGEOUS!  Was this something I still wanted deep down?  Um, apparently it was. 

 

      

 

      

 

I’m all about first impressions, and the clinic is beautiful.  The outside of the building looks like a cool kids art studio.  We went up to the lobby and it was my kind of décor.  Green plants, gold, white and smiling faces from the staff.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the major reasons I had never moved toward getting them in the past was due to the fact I thought you HAD to replace the implants every 10 or so years.  A lot of MISINFORMATION is out there regarding surgeries and each person’s body reacts differently.  Nothing is guaranteed, but do your own research on what you feel is best for you based on your lifestyle and be sure to go with a clinic that has the expertise and board certified surgeons as well as a location that makes you FEEL COMFORTABLE. 

 

{combination breast augmentation consultation}

 

Fast forward a few months after the initial meet and greet of getting to know the clinic and what they offer, I went in for a consultation for a breast augmentation.  A lot of people have a concern of the language barrier in Korea.  JW Plastic Surgery has consultants onsite that speak English, Russian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and others!  My own doctor, Dr. Seul spoke English as well, so communicating with the man who was going to be cutting my body open, was able to easily answer my questions because I had all the questions!  They have HIGH TECH EQUIPMENT that took a 3D version of my boobs.. Let me just say that it fueled the fire to want the boobs after I saw my little nuggets on the computer screen and how uneven and “small” they were with no bra.  This program allows the doctor to REALLY see the shape and size to curate your special surgery to meet your desires and wants of your future new breasts.  JW also has bras you can try on with silicone bra inserts to be able to visualize bigger boobs.  Really helps to see what it would look like “on”.

 

 

      

 

In addition, JW offers fat grafting, which is when they pull fat, typically from the thighs, and inject it into the breast region to give a more natural look.  I WANTED THIS because who doesn’t want slightly slimmer thighs in the process of getting bigger boobs?!  I was also all about wanting to look NATURAL.  I wanted people to be like “did she or didn’t she get her boobs done” and not “she obviously has her boobs done” when they see me.  

My personal consultant, Jenny, helped guide me through the process and was able to also answer questions I had that would randomly come up, even via email, because I didn’t realize I would have so many questions lingering in my head.  Things that were legitimate potential game changers such as breast feeding in the future, health concerns such as cancer or even what to expect in daily life with the new melons. 

I will admit that I was so scared and felt unprepared, that at my first appointment to make the official change, I cancelled last minute because I just wasn’t ready, had a ton of questions, and I also had some other things going on in life that I needed to make sure wouldn’t be hindered with the new additions.  

Moving forward a couple months later and my appointment date was nearing.  A few days prior to the appointment, I went in to check my health status.  They drew blood to ensure my vitals were healthy enough for surgery.  Now that’s piece of mind for those that are concerned you’re good to go under the knife.

 

{day one of the road to new boobs}

 

Official surgery day.  You must fast for 6 hours, meaning no food or drinks to include water.  I showed up at the clinic and checked in, which was super easy and streamlined.  They gave me my change of clothes which looked like scrubs from the Missoni collection.  I wasn’t super scared or anxious.  I think it helped that I was familiar with the facilities because of the tour, I had already met my doctor (Dr. Seul), and everyone made me feel super comfortable and communicated with me every step of the way and what to expect.

I met with Dr. Seul and he used my 3D pictures in combination to my actual boobs to determine where he was going to make the incisions.  He used a pen to write directly onto my body (boobs and thighs), so in the surgery room, he was ready to rock ‘n roll and give me the best boobies ever!

 

 

 

I then moved on to my own private recovery room to relax for a bit.  They have a locker with combination locks to store valuables while you undergo surgery, a bed, television and direct access to the surgery room so you don’t have far to go when finished.  

 

 

      

 

Then Jenny came to let me know it was time to get prepped for surgery, so I went through their air machine prior to entering the surgery area – helps with keeping things sanitized – and proceeded to my operation room.  This is where things GOT WEIRD and I had no clue what to expect.

 

{surgery hour}

 

Because every inch of you needs to be sanitized, you lay on the table, essentially naked (remember I was getting the fat grafting and boobs done) and the whole team has this concerted way of moving your body around to put that orange substance known as povidone-iodine literally in every crevice (and I mean every crevice) and I was just lying there like.. welp, there’s no hiding, they see every speck of skin on your body.  It might be a little embarrassing for some, but you are surrounded by medical specialists who are there to do their job and do it well so you just have to ignore that awkward feeling inside.  

I had general anesthesia which is the kind that makes you go to sleep.  I certainly didn’t want to know what was going on because I can hardly stomach seeing needles used to draw blood.. no sir, knock me the eff out so I can wake up with fabulous titties!!

 

{waking up with new boobs}

 

Four hours later and I’m waking up.. it’s a little vague right now, but I remember being back in my private room and that’s when I realized the surgery room was right next door.  The nurses were able to be in my room in 5 seconds if I needed them via a call button, which I did use when I noticed at one point my fluids were super low in my IV, and they PROMPTLY changed it out with a fresh bag. Sometimes the anesthesiologists believe a patient might need the IV depending on pain level after surgery. Usually it’s given to patients with a more complex surgery plan or if pain level might be high after the surgery.. Basically, you may or may not get the IV.. I obviously did..

First thoughts when waking up… Weird, I oddly feel ok and I was given a heat pad which was AMAZING.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I wasn’t in a huge amount of pain.  Granted I was probably still pretty medicated as I had medicine directly going into my veins and I was slightly loopy.  If you follow along on my Instagram (@brigittepatton), you may have seen those stories.  If not, check my “JW Clinic” highlights and you can clearly see my confused face while trying to put words together. 

 

 

 

I remember feeling slight discomfort and a little heavier on my chest with the compression tape they had wrapped around me after recovering for a bit.  Everything was wrapped including my legs… very tight!  I was only there after my surgery for a couple hours after waking up and felt pretty good to start heading home.  I could walk and stand on my own just fine.  Jenny gave me a checklist of do’s and don’ts, medication that included pain killers (because I definitely would need those later), and some pumpkin juice because your girl hadn’t had food ALL DAY!  I also left with a device that contained pain killers in this weird long oval tube that could attach to your clothes while walking/sleeping and a needle in my arm to deliver the medicine.  I WAS DEATHLY AFRAID OF ACCIDENTALLY PULLING THE TUBED WIRES AND RIPPING IT AWAY FROM MY VEIN. Don’t worry, that DID NOT HAPPEN.  The nurses wrapped my arm to help prevent it from easily coming out and they assured me that if it did, it wasn’t the end of the world.  

 

      

 

 

 

 

My husband met up with me (bring a friend to help you out or even if for morale support) and we hopped in a cab back to our Airbnb for the week so we could be closer to the clinic.  I was pretty tired but seriously felt better than expected after undergoing surgery.  

Night ONE: All the things to prepare you for your post operation of breast augmentation surgery.. 

1. I couldn’t shower and wasn’t allowed to until three days later due to all the bandages and fresh cuts that needed to start the healing process. 
2. Wear comfortable loose fitting clothing that you can easily unbutton for the top and if you opted for the fat (leg) grafting, something that won’t stick to your pants when pulling them down – although expect this, just try to minimize it.  I needed help pulling my pants up/down when going to the bathroom; I realized my husband is going to be awesome when I’m old and need help with this again at some point in my life.  Between making sure the medical tube didn’t get torn out, all the tape everywhere, and overall pain, you need someone to have your back those first few days.  
3. OH.. almost forgot.. sitting on the toilet hurts..A LOT.  Imagine you have bruises everywhere on your legs and you had to put pressure from a hard ass toilet seat on said bruises.. I mastered sitting down very slowly and embracing the pain each time.  
4. Sleep on your back – for some this takes some getting used to.  I remember at one point in the night waking up on my side – freaked out – and went back on my back and everything was fine.
5. I held tightly onto my medical tubey thing in my hands on my chest because I was so afraid I would rip it out.
6. There was no way I was getting myself out of bed gracefully (this happens for awhile.. maybe a week till it feels comfortable).  Anytime I needed to get out of bed (or off the couch), I needed my husband to help pull me by the arms to sit up.  Any usage of your abs or chest was not going to happen, they’re basically jello and no matter how much you think you can muster up the momentum, you just continue to lie there.. not moving.
7. I could feel a couple areas that were more sensitive than others.  This is hard to explain because I think it was just a weird part of the bandage rubbing awkwardly on me so others may not experience the same issue.  Overall the pain was very doable.    

I had a slight freak out point.  I legit sat there thinking, WHY did I decide to do this to myself?  I WANTED THEM OUT.  I think it was the medication starting to wear off from surgery and a mental breaking point of omigosh I just put something FOREIGN in my body and now I’m having regrets.  I breathed through it and reminded myself that literally millions of people have had the same surgery and I was having a moment.  It passed and I was fine. 

 

 

Basically, you’re not going to get the best nights rest and you still have zero idea of what your boobs look like because they’re completely covered.  The end.

The morning after: initial feeling and first (of many) follow up appointments

I wake up, feeling somewhat all right (again surprised), got some computer work done because I’m a crazy person like that and headed to my day after follow up appointment.  

 

{day after surgery — follow up appointments — new boobs – and going back to work}

 

The nurse removed my medication tube and part of me wonders if I’ll immediately start feeling pain (which I don’t because now I rely on the oral medication).  Dr. Seul changed out the bandages on my chest and I see my boobs for a hot second and I’m glad they don’t look super foreign to me.  They also sanitized the incision areas and re-taped parts of my legs where it was coming off.  The whole appointment lasted 10-15 minutes and I was free to go.  I was able to log over 10K steps because between getting to my appointment and certain parts of Seoul require walking where cabs won’t always go, it’s easy to get a million steps without realizing it.  In fact, that night, I hung out with some friends at a nearby bar (I didn’t drink because you’re not supposed to) but I was able to sit and chat in my most comfy clothes and felt ok.   

Day 2: I went to work.  I mentioned I was slightly crazy and a little neurotic, but my brain was fine, just my body took the beating.  My day job is in an office environment so this was doable, I just slowly got up and down from sitting in my chair and acted like nothing happened because nobody wants to have that conversation at work about how you just accentuated your chesticles.  I threw on comfortable stretchy jeans and light bulky sweater and went about the day. 

Day 3: Bandages are removed completely from my chest and legs except for areas where incisions were made.  This is where I can see the incisions were made UNDER my boobs and one small incision (*not really incision but tiny hole I would say) under each butt cheek for the fat grafting from my thighs.  I realized I’m BRUISED LITERALLY EVERYWHERE.  Purple was now my new shade.  It looked worse than it felt..  I was also EXTREMELY BLOATED.  All the swelling goes down because of gravity, so my stomach and legs were so swollen!  It was definitely mental to see yourself that way when you’re trying to make your appearance better! P.S. Since the bandages are removed, I could FINALLY SHOWER.   

I was given a surgery bra that outlines your boobs but clips in the back like a normal bra.  Imagine a normal bra with no cups, just the strap outline.. it looks kind of fetishy.  This helps to keep the implants in place because they can move around and nobody wants those new shiny toys to do any kind of mobilizing they aren’t supposed to.  Since they didn’t cover the front boobs and your nipples are hanging free, I bought some nipple covers so I didn’t look like I was smuggling raisins.  

Image is a little graphic, but I want to put the realness out there. 

 

 

 

I had a string of follow up appointments at the clinic, it varied from weekly to monthly, to every other month depending on my recovery status.  Each appointment, I was seen by Dr. Seul so he could assess my post operation and tailor the process that was best for me.  Everyone heals differently so it’s important to have someone who is knowledgeable and with much expertise.  I put all my trust in Dr. Seul and I now realize he is seriously an artist!

 

 

{post op takeaways}

 

• Sitting around makes the pain worse.  Get up and moving and it takes your mind off the random discomfort that occurs.  I’m talking shooting pains or what feels like a bruise that someone is putting their finger on and won’t let go.  
• Baby wipes are your friend.  Since you can’t shower for the first three days, you find ways to not sweat and baby wipe every crevice of your body so people aren’t offended by the way you smell.  I was surprised at how easy this was to keep clean because I am one of those people that will shower multiple times a day if I sweat even a little bit.  
• I was advised to not workout for 2 months.. this was tough for me, so I walked A LOT.  I initially made it a goal to hit 10K steps daily.  Then I got antsy and upped this to 15K after two weeks and I walked a little faster (without breaking a sweat).  You don’t want to get your heart rate too high which can lead to blood clots – so listen to your doctor.
• I felt slight dizziness sometimes in the morning or after laying down. I would need my arms to be pulled to sit up and I would just sit on the edge of the bed until it wore off.  This lasts about 2 weeks and at times I felt helpless but could rely on my husband to pull me up.  Sometimes I would swing my legs around toward the ground and would slide out of bed if I didn’t want to bother him or he wasn’t home.  It wasn’t cute.  
• Day to day you can operate totally fine and I had minimal pain.  Night time is when the pain would come in full force.  A lot of sleepless nights, especially the first month.  I think because you aren’t moving as much so your body tightens up and the surgery bra needed to be worn at night and would sometimes put pressure on the incision points. 
• You don’t heal symmetrically.  My right side seemed to be almost 100% fine from the start, whereas my left side struggled (and is still a little behind in being completely soft, but it’s coming along).  Shooting pains till around 3 weeks and sometimes it would just feel uncomfortable for no reason but nothing that would make you cry out of shock or pain.
• My new boobs were SHINY AF.  Your skin is being stretched and may even flake a little.  I experienced numbness for awhile.  I’m almost to my sixth month and the last bit of numbness (or maybe this is actually stiffness) is going away – FINALLY!  P.S. I haven’t had any issues with sensitivity either..

After 30 days I started applying the following to my new boobs EVERY. SINGLE. DAY:

• Pregnancy Boob Tube – Not just for pregnant women.  Think about it, pregnant women’s boobs grow exponentially, and they use this miracle cream to help with stretch marks, so I figured this should work for those with new instant boobs.
• Vitamin E – SUPER EFFING GOOD.  Really helps to keep things moisturized.
• Domina Whitening Cream – for the implant incision points. Let dry after at least 5 minutes and don’t apply in sunlight; use once a day at night.*
• Pure Clinic Silicone Scar Gel – also applied to the implant incision points; use twice a day – morning and night.*

*These might be harder to find as I got them directly from the JW Plastic Surgery clinic in Korea.  Reach out to them if you want to try the products and I’m sure they can square you away.

 

 

I swear this routine saved me from stretch marks and heavy scarring.  Seriously I’ve heard horror stories and I apparently have VERY minimal scars right now.  I also know it’s in part to Dr. Seul’s technique.

 

{boobie size details}

 

I get asked what SIZE BOOBS I got.  And while I knew the look I wanted, I described it as an average C but that while in surgery, if Dr. Seul thought I should be bigger (or smaller) to use his best judgment for my body frame.  Picking your new boob size must be one of the hardest decisions, like ever!

I personally chose the Motiva implants with a chip and ended up with 275cc plus the extra fat grafting from my thighs to keep it looking natural.  After the swelling went down (I waited 3 months before revamping my Victoria Secret wardrobe), I got measured and I went from a 34B to a 34D.  I’m REALLY happy with the size and it really fits my body frame now.  This is where expertise with a keen eye comes in and Dr. Seul DELIVERED!  

**The following photos are not photoshopped in any way**

 

 

 

      

 

 

You should discuss which implants work for you, your lifestyle, and expectations.  I opted for the chipped Motiva (it can also come without the chip) because they can essentially scan your implants to check the details about your surgery and characteristics of the implants that were used during surgery.   This is quite useful because after many years you can easily access all the info about the surgery, especially if you no longer remember what size or shape was used. The implant warranty is also extended which is something that was important to me.

Here we are almost six months post op and while I’m still in the recovery process, I couldn’t be happier!!  I wanted to focus this particular post on my personal experience with the reasons why I chose JW Plastic Surgery Clinic.  While surgery isn’t for everyone and I’m not here to convince you to get boobs or anything done, this was my personal experience and decision.  I now feel like my body is proportionate.. My hips now match my upper body and I didn’t realize how this would make me feel (so positive!)..  Should you chose to move forward, you have a place you could bookmark for later to read about someone else’s boob journey.  ESPECIALLY when choosing a country that may not be your home.  Korea is huge on medical tourism and there’s a reason Seoul is particularly at the top of the list for foreigners; the number of surgeries performed, expertise, and board certified doctors are so top notch that I always felt so COMFORTABLE in putting my TRUST into Dr. Seul and the team at JW.  

Please let me know if you have any questions because knowledge is power..

 

++This post is in collaboration with JW Plastic Surgery Clinic – As always, the opinions are my own!++