Yeson voice feminization surgery

[Cindi Jones]

How far in advance is payment made and how is it made? Do they accept plastic on the spot or must they receive a money order months in advance? If I could put the surgery into winter of 2016 and pay for it in that year, that would provide a significant tax break for me. It wouldn't help me at all this year.

[ElleA]

It's all on the day of your first consultation. They take cash, card, or bank transfer.

[Cindi Jones]

Thanks Ella! That sounds terrific. I could do it in January. Is there anyone following this thread who has not had a positive experience with this procedure?

Cindi

[ImagineKate]

Cindi, you should email Jessie at english@yesonvc.net and do the preop checklist and stuff. They will ask for a voice recording as well. In my case I have chronic medical conditions (diabetes type 2) so I had to know. They said it was fine as long as it is controlled (I am).

They take credit cards but I'm worried about the card being declined and I would have to call my card issuer. I use mostly Amex and I'm not even sure they accept that in Korea (maybe they do but visa/mc seems to be the standard). I have a Visa card but the limit is only like $5k (on purpose). That's an option though. Your bank may charge a foreign transaction fee as well.

Wire transfer is good but there is an extra fee. However I think it is the most fool proof method. You need to wire 5 weeks in advance.

Cash is iffy. I don't want to have a billion questions at US and Korean customs or get the money seized or lost or whatever.

As for negative experiences the only ones we've seen so far are those who have complained about not enough pitch increase. But they either had well trained voices before or their pitch is fine and they wanted more. Nobody has really had any complications or lost their voice or had their voice sounding odd like Mickey Mouse or anything which is quite remarkable.

[anjaq]

I wired the money as I thought it is the safest way even if there is a fee for it. I think it was about $20-40 or something? But I did not trust my credit card to work flawlessly with that big sums and My credit marign is not that high either, I would have had to somehow prepare all of this very well, so I took an easier way by simply wire transfer it. Plus I had a better EU/USD exchange rate at that time than I would have had at the date of surgery , with the EU still plunging down.
I did pay for the Botox with Mastercard though and it was accepted, also I could just get some cash from my Maestro Checking Account at "global ATM" machines with my PIN, it was a much better exchange rate than actually changing real currency (but about $400 max. withdrawal). However with my friends Maestro card , she could not get any money from an ATM, so I would really call the bank and check how this works before you go. Apparently the bank has to have a contract with Korean banks for it to work. Mastercard seems to do fine in all cases so far though, but you probably need a PIN and a chip on the card for it to work flawlessly also for getting money at an ATM. At Yeson I just had to sign, no PIN needed.

[ImagineKate]

The fee is $40 plus any fees from your bank which is separate.

Also you need to wire 3-4 weeks in advance not 5 as I stated previously.

[barbie]

I use mostly Amex and I'm not even sure they accept that in Korea (maybe they do but visa/mc seems to be the standard).

About 10 years, I frequently used Amex in Korea. It is not so much popular as Visa or Master, but anyway is a standard credit card here.

barbie~~

[ImagineKate]

About 10 years, I frequently used Amex in Korea. It is not so much popular as Visa or Master, but anyway is a standard credit card here.

barbie~~

Very good to know, thanks. I'll still have a visa card with me but it would be nice to use my amex since I get rewards and points better than the visa.

[Cindi Jones]

When I know I'll have a big expense, I call my Visa company and tell them what it is, about how much it will be, and when. With that information, I've never had problems. But it would be wise to check about the international ramifications.

Do you convert some US cash into local currency at the airport? About what do cab fares run?  And thanks ImagineKate for the referral. I'll check that out.

Cindi

[anjaq]

I carried some cash with me, just in case, but it was no issue with my card (others did have issues with Maestro cards) to just use a "global ATM" and get cash. There is a transportation card, you can load money on it and then use it for taxi, subway and bus. Taxi fares seem to be about 10000KRW for a 20-25 min ride - varies by traffic and distance and time, I guess. Phil House to the Clinic was always around 10-15k KRW, so about 8-12 EU (should be the same in USD). From the airport it is expensive though. We took a bus from the airport, there are several, and then the subway, on the return we left at Gimpo airport, the subway goes directly into the airport station. I think Yeson can organize a pickup at the airport if you arrive during opening hours and have a hotel near Yeson.

[Cindi Jones]

Which airport did you fly in to? And is there a decent hotel very close to the hospital? This is a big deal so I won't necessarily penny pinch. Convenience is key to me when I'm in a new city. Do they accept American dollars or is that illegal?

I did send an email to the clinic yesterday. No response yet. i suppose I'm just too anxious. Plus I'm going through a divorce which makes this an infinitely wonderful diversion from THAT.

Cindi

[barbie]

Which airport did you fly in to? And is there a decent hotel very close to the hospital? This is a big deal so I won't necessarily penny pinch. Convenience is key to me when I'm in a new city. Do they accept American dollars or is that illegal?

I did send an email to the clinic yesterday. No response yet. i suppose I'm just too anxious. Plus I'm going through a divorce which makes this an infinitely wonderful diversion from THAT.

Cindi

Typically, it is Incheon airport. Gimpo airport is old one and mostly for domestic flights, except some short-distance flights to Japan or China.

There are many nice hotels, but remember that Seoul is a very expensive city like NYC and Tokyo.

It is not illegal, but most stores do not accept dollars.

barbie~~

[anjaq]

Yeson Center accepts USD, but other stores will usually accept credit card, even small stores, or korean currency. We had a flight arrival at Incheaon airport, which is a bit far from the city, about an 1 1/2 drive with the Bus and went out with a departure at Gimpo. But usually it is Incheon unless you have a stop in Japan or China (we had one in Bejing). Jessie from Yeson can tell you recommended Hotels close to the Clinic. But you will be at the clinic only 3 times, so it is not really that much of an issue if you choose a different hotel that is not in Gangnam of all expensive places - And only one of the three times it is needed to take a taxi, that is the day of surgery. Other than that, the subway is your friend, faster and cheaper than taxi. Seriously, we took more time with the taxi to Yeson from our room than with the subway because traffic in the rush hours is insane.

When writing to them, keep in mind that there is a time difference and they may read the email a day later and then you read the reply another day later, if they replied instantly. If she does not reply within a week, I would just try again, usually I always had a reply within a few days unless I asked something where she had to ask Dr Kim himself, then it took much longer at times as it depended on when he had time for email consultations.

[ImagineKate]

Remember as well that they are a day ahead so it is already the weekend there. Don't expect a reply until at minimum Sunday afternoon (Eastern US time) and probably Monday.

Jessie has been good at replying to emails though but they are swamped so you may have to be a little patient.

[Cindi Jones]

Yeah, what happened with my email was it couldn't be delivered. Perhaps their server is down. I've been watching a lot of youtube videos of other women who have gone there. I CAN speak in a very feminine way in a high register. In all the videos I saw I did not detect any real difference in the top range that they could reach. Rather, the lower timber and resonance was significantly reduced.

Does the procedure actually give you the capacity to go higher than before or just force you to speak in the higher range? Does that make sense? If I end up with my own "higher feminine" that I can already do, I'm having some doubts. Yes, it would be so nice not to have to worry about it. But I did want to actually sing female parts (which can be done electronically) and I would like to get rid of the bass resonance. But I have absolutely no problems passing. I don't know. I'm at a juncture in my life and I want to do something for ME.

I did the change on the cheap way back when. I didn't get the trace shave, no surgery on my face, I only got the first stage of a two step procedure by Dr. Biber.... and believe me, men don't give an orange. The second step was to just make it "pretty" and I skipped that too.  I'm not feeling down or anything, I just was sort of looking forward to this and perhaps it might not be a good choice for me.

Cindi

[ImagineKate]

It certainly seems like it can help you go higher. Not exactly sure how. However Jenny has said she could have gone high but it is somewhat reduced now. I am guessing since your muscles don't have to worry about the lower range they can squeeze the upper ranges. But I'm not a voice surgeon so I don't know.

[anjaq]

I would not count on being able to increase the topmost range. I have my doubts that it will do much there. But I think it probably will make it easier to access some of the higher notes and also would eliminate some of the low resonance and timbre. It also makes it easier to not drop too low while speaking. This was my main motivation as it was for several others - that the voice is at the otherwiese "trained pitch" without having to use strain or give t hought about it and that it cannot drop low down anymore by accident plus that it is hopefully easier to use some higher notes. I dont think I will go beyond my pre op 950 Hz, I expect rather that it may be reduced a bit, if it goes higher and I can hit the high C, I will be amazed - But I think I would be happy if I can use the normal female range and not be scared of bad timbre anymore and to speak relaxed. If that works, I am happy already.

[Agdistis]

I just had Voice Surgery at Yeson today, it went super well!

I had some asymmetry and issues with my vocal chords apparently (which explains alot actually, I probably injured them a bit when I was in the army, lots of rough living, yelling until I lost my voice and injuries).  But it should be all good now, and shorter, yay!  It might take a little longer for healing to take Dr. Kim said, he was so professional! My Mom came with me, and she was worried until Dr. Kim explained the procedure, the risks, what to do if anything happens after surgery, etc.

I'm so glad I got this done, I had facial surgery last year and this was has been WAY easier for me to handle than that (but I will have a month of no talking to deal with, so it might end up being harder in some ways).

Thanks for posting so much in this thread everyone, it really helped me make up my mind and plan for things!

[anjaq]

Hey - so you can meet another international patient who was there today for consultation

It is amazing how many people have asymmetry and of course almost everyone has that minor "focal laryngal dystonia" or "spasmodic dysphonia" - the "vocal tremor" as Dr Kim calls it and which is why he uses the Botox in almost everyone. I think I know only one or two now who did not need Botox and only 2-3 who did not have some asymmetry or incomplete glottal closure or therelike. Apparently we all misused our voices, maybe from forcing it low to convince others that we are not queer before we came out, or from trying too much of the wrong things to speak in a way that is perceived more feminine after that point in time.

Anyways - Congratulations on that. I hope you did not get too much of the usual annoyances - stiff neck, mandibular pain or numb tongue - but those are really minor compared to something like FFS and often they dont even occure - my tongue was fine and my neck pain was ok after some Diclofenac and a good rest.

Not speaking really is annoying. The first 2 weeks are bearable and in some way the excitement about having done the surgery makes it even fun in a way. But after that time it is really annoying, when daily life hits again at home and work. I look very much forward to get rid of that restriction in about a week (although I am still unsure if the counter starts at the Botox injection or at the surgery) and cannot wait to try out my voice a bit to see how it feels and sounds. Although I know the major effects will take some more time.

How long did he predict for your healing period?

[Agdistis]

Hey!

Dr Kim said somewhere between 2 and 4 months would be when most of the healing would be done, with probably around 4 months my voice reaching most of its frequency increase.  I'll be seeing a speech pathologist back home after the healing is done completely, to help retrain my voice properly with my new vocal chords and avoid the stuff I used to do to compensate for speech problems.