The LINE Plastic Surgery

About

The LINE occupies floors 4 to 6 of the Dongnam Building on Garosu-gil, split by function: consultation on 4, treatment and the cell laboratory on 5, operating theatres on 6. The clinic states 4 operating rooms, 5 consultation rooms and 4 inpatient beds. Co-director Jung Yu-seok is a plastic surgery specialist of 32 years who performs the deep plane facelifts personally and states more than 1,000 lifting cases; co-director Cho Jae-ho is a general surgery specialist and PhD who has worked on fat and cell procedures for 31 years. A full-time anesthesiology specialist covers every general anesthesia case, and the clinic runs a self-donated blood system where the patient's own blood is drawn, separated and returned rather than using donor supply.

Deep plane facelift is the lead procedure

The clinic separates its lifting menu by dissection depth and publishes the operating time for each, which is a useful way to read what you are actually being offered. Skin-only lifting runs about 2 hours, SMAS lifting 2 to 4 hours, and deep plane lifting 4 to 8 hours because the retaining ligaments are released rather than just the SMAS tightened. Deep plane cases are performed by the lead surgeon personally, use tension-free closure and an ultrasonic scalpel for haemostasis, and are combined with SVF cell work. Recovery is stated at about one week to the point of looking presentable.

Lifting menu by depth and time

• Skin lift: about 2 hours
• SMAS lift: 2 to 4 hours
• Deep plane lift: 4 to 8 hours, sedation or general anesthesia
• Mini lift (2030 lift): about 2 hours, 5cm temporal incision with Endotine fixation, same-day discharge
• Forehead lift: 1.5 hours mini, 3 to 4 hours coronal, Endotine implants that absorb within 6 to 12 months

The cell laboratory is the differentiator

Cell Matrix Lab is the clinic's own SVF facility, not an outsourced service, and it was recognised by Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT as a dedicated SVF research department in 2023. The laboratory separates high-concentration SVF from harvested fat within 45 minutes so the cells are returned in the same operative session. It runs an air shower and HEPA-filtered clean bench, a cell counter the clinic states at over 90 percent precision, and a liquid nitrogen tank at -196C for cell banking. Three senior researchers staff it alongside the laboratory director. The clinic states the facility is roughly six times the scale of a typical SVF laboratory.

What SVF is used for here

• Improving fat graft survival, versus 20 to 30 percent for large-parcel grafting
• Deep plane facelift, added during the same operation
• Reconstructive work including contracted nose and post-surgical revision
• Scar, stretch mark and refractory skin conditions
• Anti-aging IV programmes and scalp treatment

Pre-operative testing and anesthesia

Lifting cases are preceded by around 70 specialised blood tests, and the clinic states 50 to 100 tests across its surgical menu covering heavy metals, allergy and genetic markers, alongside EKG, ultrasound of fat and breast tissue, and antibiotic allergy screening. Anesthesia uses a triple low-concentration protocol with real-time monitoring and a code blue system, delivered by the resident anesthesiology specialist rather than by the operating surgeon. This is worth asking about at any clinic: who administers the anesthesia, and are they a specialist.

Track record and teaching

The practice opened as a surgical clinic in 2004 and expanded to its current form in 2007. It passed 100,000 cumulative operations in 2016, the same year it obtained JCI accreditation, which it held from 2015 to 2018 against 289 criteria and 1,149 measurable elements, scoring full marks in 7 of 14 domains. ISO 9001 certification for plastic surgery service quality has been held since 2009. The clinic is registered with the Ministry of Health and Welfare as a foreign patient attracting institution and runs a global academy that it states has trained physicians from around 50 countries.

Published pricing

Prices below are the clinic's published event pricing, VAT excluded, and vary by operating surgeon. Blood testing, compression garments and weight-based supplements are billed separately. Confirm the current figure at consultation.

Procedures performed