Lateral Canthoplasty in Korea, Step by Step: What Happens and When You Can Fly Home

Hello, I'm Dr. Im Young Min, Chief Director, board-certified plastic surgeon at VG Plastic Surgery in Gangnam, Seoul.

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Im Young Min

Chief Director · Board-certified in Plastic Surgery

• — Ph.D. in Medicine
• — Internship and residency, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital
• — Board-certified plastic surgeon, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital

I became board-certified in plastic surgery at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, and here I operate across eyes, nose, breast, body, anti-aging and facial contouring. For a trip like yours, two facts matter more than that résumé. An anesthesiologist is on staff and doesn't operate, so the doctor looking after your sedation is never the one holding the instruments. And you'll have a medical interpreter for your language at no extra charge, which counts on day one, when stitch care and the ointment schedule are being explained to you.

If you want to know first whether your outer corner has room to move at all, send one straight-on photo of your eyes in daylight on WhatsApp, eyes open and relaxed, and ask how far the corner could realistically go. The surgeon reviews photos before anything is booked.

Why you won't find a surgery video on this page

Footage from an operating room shows a real person's face at its most exposed, and I don't think a clinic page is the place for it. So instead of a Korea lateral canthoplasty procedure steps video, I'll take you through the steps in words, the way I would explain them across a desk.

There's a second reason, and it matters more for your decision. A video shows someone else's eye. What decides your result is the anatomy of yours: how much of the white of the eye your outer corner hides when you look straight ahead, how loose your lower lid is, and how much room there is between the corner and the bony rim of the eye socket. Two people can have the same steps done and gain very different amounts.

What happens during lateral canthoplasty, one step at a time?

In short, this is the usual order when lateral canthoplasty is done on its own. It is often paired with lower-corner surgery or eyelid work, which adds steps without changing the logic.

Risks and side effects to know

1. Marking, sitting up. The new corner position is drawn while your eyes are open and looking ahead, because the corner sits differently once you lie flat.
2. Anesthesia. Local anesthetic numbs the corner, and many people also have sedation so they're drowsy through it. MedlinePlus, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's health site, describes eyelid surgery as commonly done this way, as an outpatient. The first injections sting for a few seconds.
3. A small incision at the outer corner. It is a few millimeters long and placed so the scar follows the corner's natural line.
4. Releasing and repositioning. The tissue that holds the corner in place is loosened, and the lining of the lid is set so the corner can sit further out. If the lower lid is being drawn down as well, that happens at this stage.
5. Closing. Fine skin stitches close the incision, and ointment goes on.

Done alone, the time on the table is usually under an hour, and most people go back to their hotel the same day with cold compresses and an ointment schedule.

Day by day: from stitches to the boarding gate

The timings below are the general pattern after eyelid-corner surgery. Your own surgeon sets the details for your eyes.

Cold compresses, sleeping with your head raised and dark glasses against sun and wind are the basics in the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' recovery guidance for eyelid surgery, and they apply to the outer corner too.

One detail people miss: the pink, slightly raw-looking lining at the very corner often settles more slowly than the bruising on the skin. In a day-ten selfie it can look as if the corner is still healing when it's simply on schedule. The other is the cabin. Ten hours of dry aircraft air on fresh corners feels gritty, so ask before you leave which lubricating drops or ointment you can use on the plane, and keep them in your carry-on.

How many days should you plan in Seoul?

Plan around the stitch removal, then add a buffer. Book the stitch-removal visit before you book the return flight; it's the one appointment the rest of the trip has to fit around.

Say you teach English somewhere in Asia and have a nine-day break. You land on day one and keep that evening free. Consultation and surgery fall on days two and three if the plan is agreed. Days four to six are quiet: compresses, ointment, short walks in sunglasses. Shorten that, and the stitches would have to come out at home, which works only if a local doctor has agreed to do it.

If you're adding upper eyelid or under-eye surgery to the same trip, the slower operation sets the stay; the piece on upper eyelid and under-eye surgery and your stay covers those. Your own number of days is a question for the surgeon once your eyes and your plan are known.

Once you have your break dates, send them on WhatsApp with a note on whether you're also thinking about eyelid surgery, and ask which day the stitches would come out.

What can go wrong at the outer corner?

For the first days, swelling, bruising, a tight feeling at the corners and eyes that water or feel dry are expected. They ease over one to two weeks.

The problems worth knowing about are specific to this operation:

• The corner healing back inward. Over the first months the new corner can drift partly back, leaving less gain than you saw at day ten. Deeper fixation and not over-extending lower the chance; they don't remove it.
• A visible corner scar or a small web of skin where the incision heals.
• Uneven corners, because the two sides heal at their own pace.
• A lower lid pulled down, showing white under the iris or closing less tightly, which can leave the eye dry.

For eyelid surgery in general, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons lists risks including dry eyes, difficulty closing the eyes, unfavorable scarring and the need for revision surgery.

As general guidance, wait or talk it through first if you have dry eye that is being treated, a lower lid that already sags, a stye or eye infection, a recent eye operation such as laser vision correction, if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you take blood thinners. How each eye heals varies, which is why the final plan is made in person.

Once you're home, watch for pain that gets worse rather than better, pus or a fever, a corner that opens up, or any change in your vision. Those need a doctor the same day, and an eye doctor if your vision is involved. Keep your operation note and medication list with you, and before you fly, ask where to send photos if a corner looks off.

Checking who operates, and what to read next

Before you commit to a date, find out by name who will operate; how to check who will actually operate on you walks through what to ask. If you're unsure whether your eye shape calls for the outer corner at all, inner, outer and lower corner surgery compared sets the three side by side. For the money question, what sets the canthoplasty fee for your eyes lists the factors. The photo quote and consultation booking page has the clinic's request form if you'd rather use it than a messenger.

A useful first message on WhatsApp is two photos taken in daylight, one looking straight ahead and one looking slightly up, with no makeup at the corners, plus your break dates and whatever is actually holding you back, whether that's the scar or the flight day. In person, the first thing I'd want to see is how much white your outer corner hides and how loose your lower lid is, because those two decide whether this operation is worth doing for you.

Related pages:

• Eyes surgery at VG Plastic Surgery