Surgery · Case photographs

Eye Bag Surgery Before and After

Three Rewind lower lids, and what the frames can and cannot tell you

Gangnam, Seoul | Board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Jonghwan Choi
Unretouched clinic pairs, every procedure named · KHIDI-registered for international patients

Eye Bag Surgery Cases Lower-Lid Results Eye Bag Surgery Cases Lower-Lid Results Eye Bag Surgery Cases Lower-Lid Results Eye Bag Surgery Cases Lower-Lid Results 
Frames

Eye bag surgery results

What do under-eye fat repositioning results look like after surgery?

The short answer

In Rewind's own pairs, the fat that bulged beneath the lower lid no longer pushes forward and the groove below it is shallower, so lid and cheek read as one surface. The shadow the bulge used to cast is reduced, because there is less of a ledge for overhead light to catch. What the frames do not show is a change in the colour of the skin itself: where darkness is pigment, it remains. The clinic's own explanation of dark circles is that they occur mostly where skin is thin, and that flattening the fat beneath it helps. Every pair on this page names all procedures performed in the session and is published unretouched.

All pairs are Rewind patients photographed at the clinic in Apgujeong. Captions list every procedure from the session concerned.

How much of the dark shadow disappears depends on how much of it the bulge was making. A lower lid whose darkness is mostly shadow can change a great deal in a photograph; a lid whose darkness is mostly pigment changes in contour and keeps its colour. Reading a pair with that in mind keeps expectations tied to the right finding.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi discussing a treatment plan with a patient at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 01 — Case photographs are read against your own examination
Cases

Case photographs

Three lower-lid cases from Rewind, captioned procedure by procedure

The first two pairs are repositioning performed on its own, so the change in them belongs to the lower-lid operation. The third also had upper blepharoplasty in the same session; the upper lid changed too, and that operation is named so the difference around the whole eye is not credited to the lower lid alone. Framing differs from case to case.

Rewind patients, lower lid and tear trough

Before: under-eye fat repositioning for protruding fat After: under-eye fat repositioning for protruding fat BEFOREAFTER
case 01 · single procedure
Under-eye fat repositioning for protruding fat, no other procedure
Individual results may vary.
Before: under-eye fat repositioning for a deep tear-trough groove After: under-eye fat repositioning for a deep tear-trough groove BEFOREAFTER
case 02 · single procedure
Under-eye fat repositioning for a deep tear-trough groove, no other procedure
Individual results may vary.
Before: under-eye fat repositioning with upper blepharoplasty After: under-eye fat repositioning with upper blepharoplasty BEFOREAFTER
case 03 · two procedures
Under-eye fat repositioning with upper blepharoplasty, same session
Individual results may vary.

Rewind's own patients, published unretouched, each before frame paired with an after frame of the same person. Individual results may vary, and no pair forecasts another face. Bleeding, bruising, prolonged swelling, asymmetry, altered sensation, scarring and changes in lower-lid position can follow eyelid surgery.

Read

How to read a pair

How to read an eye bag surgery photograph

A lower-lid pair repays a slow look in a fixed order. Four things, checked one at a time, separate what the operation changed from what the camera happened to catch.

look 01
The ledge
In the earlier frame, find where the bulge meets the groove. In the later one, check whether that step has flattened. This is the change the operation is designed to make.
look 02
The groove
The tear trough runs down and outward from the inner corner. Where fat was relocated into it, the groove should read shallower and the lid-cheek junction smoother.
look 03
The colour
Compare skin tone separately from shadow. Surgery does not move pigment, so any lighter look should come from less shadow, and brown or bluish tone in the skin stays as it was.
look 04
The caption
A pair with a second procedure is evidence for the combination. The third case shows both lids operated, and the upper-lid change adds to how open the eye looks.

Two more cautions apply to any under-eye photograph. The small roll directly beneath the lashes is a separate structure; Rewind states that repositioning does not remove it, though a smoother under-eye can make it less noticeable. And a still frame fixes one expression on one day, so a rested look in the second photograph is partly a matter of that day.

Change

From step to frame

What happens in eye bag surgery to produce the change in the photographs

Each visible difference in a repositioning pair traces back to a published step of the operation. The ladder links them.

01Assess

Analysis before the fat is harvested

Rewind's first published step is an analysis of the lower lid before any fat is taken. The frames you compare were planned from that reading of bulge, groove and colour.

02Release

The tear-trough adhesion is released

Freeing the ligament that pins the groove is what allows it to become shallower. In a pair, this is the part of the change seen below the old bulge.

03Transfer

The bulge becomes the filling

The harvested fat is moved into the groove, so the tissue that made the ledge now fills the hollow. The ledge flattening and the groove filling are two views of this one step.

04Support

The septum is fixed to bone in the reinforced version

Drawing the septum down and securing it to the orbital bone strengthens the support behind the relocated fat. It is invisible in any photograph; its stated purpose is a stable position for the pad.

05Settle

Swelling has to recede first

Early swelling and bruising decrease over one to two weeks in the clinic's record. A photograph from inside that window shows swelling as well as the operation. The interval at which each after frame here was taken is not stated in the captions, so ask at consultation.

06Hold

How long the change holds

The repositioning page publishes no duration. For lower blepharoplasty the clinic records more than five years with individual variation, while skin, cheek and colour go on ageing.

Operating room at Rewind Plastic Surgery, Richro Building
Fig. 02 — The operating room at Rewind, Richro Building
Rewind

Why here

Why Rewind captions every eye bag surgery case by procedure

A case photograph is evidence only if you know what it is evidence of. The captions on this page exist to answer that before you look.

01Captions

A combined case is labelled as combined

The third pair above included upper blepharoplasty. Naming it keeps the lower-lid change separate from the change above it, and stops a combined photograph from being read as a single-procedure result.

02Matching

Only confirmed same-patient pairs are shown

Each before frame is set beside an after frame of the same patient, confirmed by comparing features such as brow shape and marks on the skin before a pair is published. Frames that could not be matched are left out.

03One surgeon

The doctor who reviews the cases with you is the operating surgeon

Rewind is a single-surgeon practice, so the cases are discussed with the medical director, Dr. Jonghwan Choi, a board-certified plastic surgeon. The clinic holds KHIDI registration M-2025-01-08-09288 for international patients.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi explaining a treatment plan to a patient at Rewind
Fig. 03 — Case photographs are discussed against your own lids
Visit

At consultation

Seeing eye bag surgery cases at a Rewind consultation

Lower-lid surgery under way at Rewind Plastic Surgery

Fig. 04 — Lower-lid surgery in the Rewind theatre

Recovery room at Rewind Plastic Surgery, Apgujeong

Fig. 05 — The recovery room after eyelid surgery

Consultations take place on the fourth and fifth floors of the Richro Building in Apgujeong, Gangnam, Seoul. Ask to see further lower-lid cases when you are examined; the most useful comparison is a case whose finding resembles yours, even if another pair is more striking.

Bulge, groove and colour read separately
Captions list every procedure in the session
Pairs published unretouched
Combined cases labelled as combined
Dressing under the eye for three days
Swelling and bruising: one to two weeks
Surgery by the medical director himself
Follow-up visits with the same doctor
Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeon

Board-certified plastic surgeon

Dr. Jonghwan Choi is certified by the Korean board in plastic surgery and has co-authored ten peer-reviewed publications. Rewind's KHIDI registration for treating international patients is M-2025-01-08-09288.

Cost

Pricing

Eye bag surgery pricing behind the cases shown

The procedures named in the captions correspond to separate lines on Rewind's list. Knowing which line a case belongs to is part of reading it.

Under-eye fat repositioningThe operation in the first two cases
₩1,600,000
Septal-reinforced fat repositioningRepositioning with the septum fixed to the orbital bone
₩2,000,000
Lower blepharoplastyFor a lid whose skin and muscle are part of the finding
₩3,900,000
Upper blepharoplastyThe second procedure in the third case
₩3,900,000

A combined session such as the third case is quoted by naming each operation it contains. Which lower-lid line applies to you is decided at examination, whichever case you found most persuasive.

List rates, VAT excluded, anaesthetic fee included. The listing, or listings, are confirmed after examination.

Fit

Suitability

Whose lower lids tend to change like these cases, and whose do not

Closest to the pairs above

  • Protruding fat forming a ledge under the lid
  • A tear-trough groove beneath that ledge
  • Shadow that deepens under overhead light
  • Darkness that is mostly shadow, with little pigment
  • Upper-lid concerns as well, where upper blepharoplasty is a separate discussion
  • Any adult age, since the clinic decides by the state of the under-eye

Likely to look different from them

  • Darkness that is mostly pigment in the skin
  • Marked skin laxity, which Rewind's lower blepharoplasty page lists among its indications
  • A cheek that has descended below the lid
  • Previous lower-lid surgery, which is assessed on its own terms
  • An expectation that the roll beneath the lashes will go
  • Active eye inflammation, pregnancy or a bleeding tendency, which postpone surgery
After

Recovery

From the first week to a photograph worth comparing after eye bag surgery

The early days rarely resemble the second frame of a pair. Rewind's post-operative sheet for fat repositioning sets out what happens in between.

Days 1–3
A dressing under each eye
The dressing stays on for three days. Lifting it early to look at the result is the instruction most worth resisting.
First week
No heat, no rubbing
Saunas, steam rooms and strenuous exercise are avoided for at least a week, the eye area is not rubbed, and sunscreen goes on every day.
1–2 weeks
Swelling and bruising decrease
Early swelling and bruising recede over one to two weeks, at a pace that varies between people. Photographs from this period show healing as much as outcome.
Lid operation
Sutures and the first month
Where the lid operation was performed, the clinic records suture removal at about five to seven days and asks that the area is not pulled hard for about a month.

Risks to know before surgery include bleeding and haematoma, infection, swelling that persists, asymmetry between the sides, a groove left under- or over-corrected, altered sensation, dry eye and changes in lower-lid position. Results vary between individuals and cannot be promised.

Doctor

Professional

At Rewind, one board-certified plastic surgeon carries every case — from the first consultation to the final follow-up. Because a face is a story, and a story deserves a single author.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeonRewind,
Dr. Jonghwan Choi presenting at an academic session
Fig. 06 — Academic presentation, thread-lifting session

Rewind's Doctor

Dr. Jonghwan Choi Medical Director

One surgeon, from the first
consultation to the last follow-up.

A board-certified plastic surgeon devoted to anti-aging lifting — with the precision and restraint built through years of craniofacial practice.

Board-certified plastic surgeon (Plastic Surgery)
10 peer-reviewed publications
Medical Director, Rewind Plastic Surgery
Korean Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons
Former chief director, Apgujeong Y&T Plastic Surgery
Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
J Craniofac Surg · JKMS · Arch Craniofac Surg
Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association
Voices

Google Reviews

What our patients say.

G 5.0 ★★★★★ 12 Google reviews · Rewind Plastic Surgery, Apgujeong — live-synced from Google Business Profile

"Sample review card — at launch this section pulls the clinic's real Google reviews automatically, shown verbatim with the reviewer's initial and posting date."

AReviewer namePOSTED ON GOOGLE

"Sample review card — reviews are never written or edited by the clinic; only what patients posted on Google appears here."

BReviewer namePOSTED ON GOOGLE

"Sample review card — a 'See all reviews on Google' link takes visitors to the clinic's Business Profile."

CReviewer namePOSTED ON GOOGLE
Ask

Questions

Eye bag surgery results: what people ask about the photographs

What do under-eye fat repositioning results look like?
In Rewind's pairs the bulge under the lower lid no longer protrudes, the groove beneath it is shallower and the lid runs into the cheek more smoothly. Skin colour is unchanged. Each pair names every procedure in its session, and results vary between individuals.
How much of the dark shadow disappears after eye bag surgery?
The part the bulge was making. A protruding pad casts a shadow below it, and flattening it reduces that shadow; the clinic notes that dark circles occur mostly where skin is thin and that flattening the fat helps. Pigment in the skin stays.
Why does the third case show a bigger change around the eye?
Because two operations were performed. Upper blepharoplasty was done in the same session as the lower-lid fat repositioning, so the upper lid changed as well, and the caption names both.
Are these eye bag photographs retouched?
No. Rewind publishes its case pairs unretouched. The captions list every procedure performed in the session, and each before frame is paired with an after frame of the same patient, checked before publication.
How long after surgery was each after photograph taken?
The interval is not stated in the captions. Early swelling and bruising decrease over one to two weeks, so a photograph from inside that window shows swelling as well as the operation. Ask at consultation when any case you are shown was taken.
Why do some lower lids change less in photographs?
Because the bulge was not the main finding. Where darkness is mostly pigment, where the skin has loosened, or where the cheek has descended below the lid, a repositioning pair photographs differently, and a lower blepharoplasty or midface lift may be discussed.
Can I expect the same result as these patients?
Not as a forecast. Each pair shows one patient's anatomy, healing and operation. What a pair can show is the kind of change the procedure makes; how large that change would be on your lids is judged at examination, and individual results vary.
How long do the changes in these photographs last?
The repositioning page publishes no duration. For lower blepharoplasty the clinic records more than five years with individual variation. Skin, cheek and colour keep ageing after either operation, so a later photograph would also show time passing.
Booking

Reservation

REWIND,booking

Tell us what you are considering — we reply within one business day, in your language.

By sending this inquiry you agree that Rewind Plastic Surgery may use the details above to contact you about your consultation. We keep them only for that purpose.

Scientific evidence

Research relevant to reading lower-lid results

Three papers are listed because each qualifies what a lower-lid photograph implies: a technique paper on tear trough ligament release with fat redistribution, a series on the nasojugal groove co-authored by Rewind's medical director, and a review of preventing and correcting lower-lid malposition.

They report their own authors' patients and methods. None of them describes the patients photographed on this page, and none predicts how an individual lower lid will look at any interval after surgery.