Before surgery
Every patient has a pre-operative safety check-up and a review of medications, allergies and previous anesthesia. Surgery is postponed if anything needs attention first.
Patients fast for at least 4 hours before surgery. A companion is welcome but not required. Written consent for the surgery and the anesthesia is taken.
Bring a list of the medicines you take, and tell the team about any allergy. Surgery is not performed when a condition makes invasive surgery unsuitable; this is checked at consultation.
Anesthesia
Anesthesia follows a four-step protocol chosen for the procedure and the patient. You are monitored throughout and in recovery.
Who monitors you
A dedicated anesthesia nurse is assigned from the start of anesthesia to the end, under the supervision of the attending physician trained in anesthesia.
As a yardstick, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) standard for basic monitoring calls for qualified staff in the room for the whole anesthetic. It also calls for continuous checks on oxygen levels and breathing, with blood pressure and heart rate measured at least every five minutes.
Which anesthesia for which procedure
For labiaplasty, local anesthesia of the surgical area is always used, and intravenous propofol sedation is recommended in addition; general anesthesia is not required. Pelvic ligament suspension for incontinence alone is performed under IV sedation, with same-day discharge.
Ask which type of anesthesia is proposed for you and who will give it.
During surgery
Procedures are performed in the clinic's own operating room by one of three board-certified OB-GYN specialists.
After surgery
Recovery in a private single-occupancy suite with nurse checks, discharge instructions in English, and a 24-hour nurse line for questions once you have left.
Plan for 5 to 10 days in Seoul after incontinence or prolapse surgery. A final check is done 5 to 10 days after surgery, before you fly home. A video follow-up is scheduled after you return home. Medical records and receipts are issued in English on request.
Long-term follow-up
Follow-up care is provided for ten years after surgery under the clinic's aftercare policy: a repeat of the same procedure is free of charge; sedation anesthesia fees and any additional procedures performed at the same time are charged. If you live abroad, ask us how follow-up works for your country.
Emergency equipment and hospital transfer
Ask any clinic that gives sedation or anesthesia what emergency equipment is kept in the operating room and the recovery room, and who is trained to use it. For anesthesia given outside a hospital operating room, the ASA lists a backup oxygen supply, suction, a resuscitation bag and an emergency cart with a defibrillator and drugs.
Ask what happens if a patient needs hospital care: who is called and how the patient is moved. The ASA asks that emergency plans are agreed with backup teams before anesthesia services begin.
Infection prevention
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a guide to infection prevention for outpatient settings that sets out minimum expectations for safe care. Useful questions for any clinic include how reusable instruments are cleaned and sterilized, how hand hygiene is checked and how often staff are trained.
A checklist for the whole team
The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes a Surgical Safety Checklist, a short set of checks that the whole operating team completes around an operation. WHO says it takes under two minutes. Ask whether the team uses one.
Ask us
You are welcome to put any of these questions to us. Consultations are available in English.
Questions
Will I need general anesthesia?
That depends on the procedure. For labiaplasty, local anesthesia of the surgical area is always used, and intravenous propofol sedation is recommended in addition; general anesthesia is not required. Pelvic ligament suspension for incontinence alone is performed under IV sedation, with same-day discharge.
Is surgery ever declined for safety reasons?
Surgery is not performed when a condition makes invasive surgery unsuitable; this is checked at consultation.
What follow-up is there after I go home?
A final check is done 5 to 10 days after surgery, before you fly home. A video follow-up is scheduled after you return home. Patients have a 24-hour nurse contact line after surgery.
Sources
- American Society of Anesthesiologists: Standards for Basic Anesthetic Monitoring
- American Society of Anesthesiologists: Statement on Nonoperating Room Anesthesia Services
- CDC: Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care
- World Health Organization: Safe surgery
- NHS: Before surgery, having an operation