Double eyelid surgery in Korea: process, what drives the cost, and recovery
The two main techniques clinics use, why the price gap between them is so large, what a quote should list, and a day-by-day recovery timeline to plan travel around.
Planning default8 nightsCost it out →
On this page (6 sections)
Double eyelid surgery creates or deepens the fold in the upper lid. It is usually done awake under local anaesthesia as a day case, and it is the procedure where the gap between the cheapest and the most involved version of 'the same surgery' is widest. Almost everything on this page follows from one distinction.
#Suture or incision: the split that sets price and recovery
The two families of technique. Many clinics also offer a partial-incision method that sits between them.
| Non-incisional (suture) | Incisional | |
|---|---|---|
| What is done | Buried stitches create the fold without removing tissue | The lid is opened along the fold line; skin, fat or muscle may be removed before it is closed |
| Best suited for | Thin eyelid skin, little excess fat | Thicker skin, excess skin or fat, asymmetry, revisions |
| Durability | Can loosen over years for some patients | Generally considered more permanent |
| Stitch removal visit | Often none, because the sutures stay buried | Yes; the NHS puts removal at up to a week after surgery |
| What the NHS recovery figures describe | Not covered by NHS blepharoplasty guidance; ask the clinic for its own figures in writing | About two weeks off work, and bruises and redness that may take several weeks to fade |
A consultation should include the surgeon physically examining your eyelid skin thickness and fat volume and telling you which column fits your anatomy, not only which one you asked for by name. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons adds a point that matters for the design: a drooping lid is sometimes caused by a stretched lid-lifting muscle (ptosis) or by forehead skin relaxing, rather than by excess eyelid skin, and those need a different operation. Ask whether you have any ptosis and whether the plan corrects it or leaves it. If a partial-incision method is proposed, ask which of the two columns above its recovery and durability resemble in your case.
#What the price is built from
Within either technique, the quote moves with what is added to the crease work. Each of these should be its own line, because it is what makes one clinic's number comparable with another's:
- The surgeon's fee for the named technique, with local anaesthesia, the stitch-removal visit and one or two checks usually inside it
- Epicanthoplasty (opening the inner corner) or ptosis correction combined with the crease work: often quoted separately
- Fat or muscle removal beyond the basic incision
- Revision of an earlier eyelid operation, which takes longer to plan and to perform
- Sedation on top of local anaesthesia, and who gives it
- Pre-operative blood tests, prescription medicine and ointment, and the swelling-care sessions some clinics add on
- Outside almost every quote: interpreter fees beyond the clinic's own staff, revision surgery, and extra hotel nights if healing is slow
Verify before you rely on this: Double eyelid surgery is a cosmetic procedure, taxed and priced outside national health insurance, with fees set by each clinic, so this page gives no price range; the guide on reading a Korean clinic quote explains how to compare written quotes instead. Prices in forums are usually for the simplest non-incisional case. Get your own written quote after an in-person or video assessment of your eyelids, with VAT stated and the deposit and cancellation terms on the same page.
#Who a surgeon will ask to wait
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons lists good candidates as healthy people with no condition that impairs healing, non-smokers, people with realistic goals, and people without serious eye conditions. The NHS adds a step before any of that: discuss the plan with your own doctor first, because a medical condition may be affecting the eyelids or may make the operation unsuitable. For a visitor those two pieces of advice turn into a short list to raise before booking flights, not at the consultation desk.
- An existing eye condition, which the society lists as a reason not to operate
- A condition that slows healing, or blood-thinning medicine you cannot pause; the surgeon may want a letter from your own doctor
- Smoking, which the society lists against candidacy and which the NHS asks patients to stop before any anaesthetic
- Drooping that is really ptosis or a low brow: a different operation, and possibly not one for a short trip
- An earlier eyelid operation that has not fully settled; revisions are planned around the previous scar and need a longer gap
Any of these can lead a careful surgeon to advise against operating on this trip. That is a better outcome than a same-day operation on an eyelid nobody has examined, and it is why a video assessment before you buy the ticket is worth the trouble.
#Seven questions for the consultation, and one check to do yourself
- Which method suits my eyelids, and what did you see in the examination that decides it?
- Do I have any ptosis (weak lid-lifting muscle), and does the plan correct it or leave it?
- Who performs the whole operation, and who gives any sedation?
- How many of these operations do you do, and what are your qualifications and society memberships?
- On which day are stitches removed, and does that visit double as the check where you clear me to travel?
- If the crease loosens or the two sides end up uneven, what is your revision policy and who pays?
- What follow-up can be done by photo or video once I am home?
The check: search the clinic's Korean name on HIRA's public hospital search, which lists how many specialists (전문의) it has in each department; the title to look for is 성형외과 전문의, and the red-flag clinic article walks through the search and the other registers.
#Stitch removal sets the departure date
The NHS describes eyelid surgery as taking roughly 45 minutes to two and a half hours depending on what is done, usually as a day case, with suture strips removed up to a week later. It also advises waiting 7–10 days before flying after facial cosmetic procedures. The planning default of 7–10 nights is built from those two figures: a consultation day, the surgery day, the NHS's up-to-a-week to stitch removal, and its 7–10 days before flying, with the longer end for the incisional method. You will not know which method you are getting until the surgeon has examined you, so plan for the incisional timeline.
- Day −1 or 0In-person consultation, eyelid examination, design of the crease height, consent and payment. Some clinics operate the same day; a day's gap gives you time to think.
- Day 0Surgery, usually under local anaesthesia with or without sedation. You go back to the hotel the same day with cold packs and ointment.
- Days 1–3Swelling and bruising peak. Sleep propped up, use cold compresses as instructed, keep screens and reading short.
- Days 5–7Stitch removal for the incisional method and a check of the crease. This appointment sets your departure date.
- Days 7–10Most people are presentable with sunglasses and cleared to fly. One eye often lags behind the other.
- Back homeThe NHS says bruises and redness may take several weeks to fade. The crease keeps settling for months; send the clinic photos at the intervals they ask for.
General guidance drawn from NHS and ASPS patient information; your surgeon's instructions replace it.
| When | Usually fine | Usually off limits |
|---|---|---|
| First 2–3 days | Short walks, audio, cold compresses | Driving, rubbing the eyes, bending and lifting |
| First week | Light sightseeing in dark sunglasses | Contact lenses, eye make-up, swimming, strenuous exercise, alcohol |
| Week 2 | Flying once cleared, desk work | Sun on the scar without protection, saunas |
Practical note: The two eyes almost never swell down at the same rate in the first week; one side looking more finished than the other at day three is normal. What is not normal is listed in the warning below. Pack dark sunglasses and a hat: the American Society of Plastic Surgeons asks for strict sun protection until healing is complete.
A clinic that quotes a fixed price for double eyelid surgery over chat or email, without having examined your eyelids in person or on video, has not chosen a technique yet, and the price will change once it does. After surgery, sudden pain, a change in vision or bleeding that does not stop is a reason to call the clinic or go to an emergency department the same day, not to wait for the next visit.
#Common questions
Will I be awake during double eyelid surgery?
Usually, yes. Local anaesthesia, often with light sedation, is typical for crease surgery on its own, which is also why you can normally return to the hotel the same day. Combined operations can change that; ask who gives any sedation and how you are monitored.
Is the non-incisional method permanent?
It can last many years, but the buried sutures can loosen in some patients, particularly with thicker skin or more fat. The incisional method is generally considered more durable. Neither comes with a promise, which is why the revision policy belongs in writing.
Why does the surgeon keep asking about ptosis?
Because a lid that droops from a weak lifting muscle will not be fixed by a new crease alone. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons describes ptosis and forehead skin relaxation as separate causes that need different operations, and a ptosis correction is usually a separate line on the quote.
When can I wear contact lenses and make-up again?
Not in the first days; the NHS lists contact lenses and rubbing the eyes among things to avoid early on. Bring glasses for the whole trip and ask the surgeon for a date at the stitch-removal visit.
Can I combine it with rhinoplasty on the same trip?
Clinics often offer it. The stay is then set by the nose, which has the longer recovery and its own splint-removal visit, and the quote should still list each operation separately so you can compare it with other clinics. The rhinoplasty article covers that timeline.
Work out the whole trip: open the total cost calculator with 8 nights filled in. That is a planning default, not a schedule — replace it with the dates your own clinic gives you.
Sources
- Medical Korea — foreign patient information portal
- NHS — Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty): what it involves, recovery, risks
- NHS — Cosmetic surgery abroad (flying after surgery, questions to ask)
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Eyelid surgery candidates
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Eyelid surgery recovery
- Korea Policy Briefing — Using HIRA hospital search: departments and specialist numbers per clinic (Korean)
- HIRA — Hospital and pharmacy search (Korean)
Planning the trip? Tick off the trip checklist — what to get in writing, what to pack and which documents to collect before you fly home — and keep the Korean phrase cards on your phone for taxis and pharmacies.
This site is an information resource, not a medical provider, agency or broker. We do not arrange treatment, refer patients to specific hospitals, or receive commission from clinics for introductions. Nothing here is medical advice — decisions about treatment belong to you and a licensed doctor.