Truman Customer Story Column Surgery date: 2026-02-19
To Someone Even More Afraid
Because It Was Their First Surgery
For someone who has hardly ever had an operation in their life, a first surgery is a fear all its own. Will I wake up from the anesthesia? And what about the thought of an incision in the skin? Add the eyes and reactions of the people around you, and the decision grows heavier by the day.
One patient who recently had surgery with us was exactly that kind of person. We would like to share the honest story he left in his review with everyone standing before that same fear.
01
The scariest part was simply that it was his first surgery
This patient had almost no experience with surgery in his life, and he told us that the very fact that this would be his first operation was his greatest fear. The vague dread of anesthesia and incisions, and on top of that, the eyes and reactions of the people around him. He opened the door to our consultation room carrying all of it at once.
Feeling shaken before your first surgery is completely natural. Our consultations begin by acknowledging that feeling first.
First impression
Kind, patient explanations lifted away much of the fear
02
Kind, patient explanations lifted away much of the fear
When he first came to the clinic, he worried that asking question after question might only make his anxiety grow.
But as our medical team kindly explained and guided him through each step, he wrote that much of his worry and fear melted away. He also appreciated that the same care continued through his post-surgery appointments and aftercare. Fear does not disappear because someone tells you to snap out of it. It only settles when every question is met with a calm answer.
03
Seeing how clean the result looked, he was surprised in the best way
Before surgery, his chest protruded quite noticeably, and he worried that even after surgery the result might look awkward.
But when the surgery was over, he said he was actually startled by how clean and natural his body looked. Watching someone who arrived imagining the worst breathe a sigh of relief in front of the result — for us, that is the most rewarding moment of all.
04
“The rest of life, so much lighter”
When we asked what he wanted to do after surgery, he said he wanted to “buy clothes and accessories that actually fit my body.” And that if the day ever came to take his shirt off — at a pool or anywhere else — he did not want to hesitate.
To those with the same concern, he left this message: there must be others agonizing just as he did, and — to put it a little boldly — your quality of life changes dramatically. If you can just get through the slightly awkward discomfort of the early recovery period, he said, you can live the rest of your life so much more happily.
To those with the same concern
"If you can just get through the early days of recovery, I believe you can live the rest of your life
so much more happily."
His parting words — “There is nothing I would ask to change; just keep doing exactly what you are doing” —
left us feeling even more grateful than he was.
It is only natural to be afraid of your first surgery.
Trueman Myeongdong will be there to lift that fear away, one question at a time.
— Dr. Shim Young-jin, Trueman Men's Clinic Myeongdong —