Choosing a procedure
Korean cosmetic surgery explained: fat, threads or bone for your face line?
How facial liposuction, thread lifts, fat grafting and bone contouring differ in Korea — and how to check your surgeon is a board-certified plastic surgeon.
Many visitors come to Seoul wanting a “smaller face”. In practice that request can mean very different operations. Knowing what each one changes helps you ask the right questions at consultation.
Three ways to change a face line
Reduce fat
Facial liposuction and buccal fat removal take away volume made of fat — double chin, jowls, malar fat.
Lift what has dropped
Thread lifts (and, for more advanced sagging, surgical facelifts) reposition tissue that has sagged.
Change the bone
Zygoma reduction, jaw angle reduction and chin surgery change the framework under the soft tissue.
A fourth tool, fat grafting, adds volume where the face is hollow. Many plans combine two or more of these.
Recovery is very different
Fat removal and thread lifts are usually day procedures with a short recovery; Target’s facial liposuction uses no stitches, and face washing and make-up are possible from the next day. Bone contouring is done under general anaesthesia and needs considerably more time before you look like yourself again. If your schedule is short, this difference matters.
Checking that your surgeon is a plastic surgeon
In Korea, a clinic may use “plastic surgery” (성형외과) as part of its name only when its doctor is a board-certified plastic surgeon. Clinics run by doctors of other specialties must use a plain clinic name and can only list plastic surgery as a treatment subject. Look for “성형외과의원” in the clinic’s Korean name, and ask who will perform your operation.
- Ask whether the doctor who consults is the doctor who operates.
- Ask how the operation will be monitored under sedation.
- Ask what is included in the fee and whether anything could be added on the day.
- Ask what the procedure cannot do for you.
Where Target fits
Target Plastic Surgery focuses on fat removal, thread lifting and fat grafting, with one board-certified plastic surgeon who consults and operates. It does not perform bone contouring. Read V-line without bone surgery for how the surgeon decides whether fat or bone is the main cause.
This website provides general information about procedures offered at Target Plastic Surgery and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Every procedure carries risks such as swelling, bruising, asymmetry or infection, and results differ from person to person. Suitability is decided by the surgeon after an in-person examination.
