Medical Editorial Policy

This page sets out who writes what you read here, what counts as evidence, what we will not publish, and where our interests could pull against yours. It is written so that you can judge the content rather than take it on trust.

Who writes and who reviews

Treatment pages are drafted from the clinical protocols used at Maylin Apgujeong and from the published literature. Every page that describes a treatment, a risk, or an expected course is reviewed by a doctor who treats at the clinic before it is published. The procedure is set out step by step in the Medical Review Process.

A page that has been reviewed carries the name of the reviewing doctor and the date of review. If a page carries no such line, it has not yet been through review.

What we treat as evidence

Where sources disagree, we follow the stronger one and say so. In descending order of weight:

Peer-reviewed studies, with systematic reviews and controlled trials ahead of case series.
Guidance from medical societies in dermatology, laser and aesthetic medicine.
Approvals and safety notices from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and equivalents such as the FDA.
Manufacturer documentation, used for device and product specifications only.
Clinical experience at this clinic, identified as such and never presented as evidence of general effect.

Sources we rely on are listed under Sources and References, and papers published by our own doctors are listed under Journal Articles with links to PubMed.

What we do not publish

Guarantees of outcome, or any wording that implies a result is assured.
Superlatives and rankings that cannot be verified, such as claims to be first, best or leading.
Patient testimonials used as advertising.
Before and after photographs without documented consent, or presented in a way that suggests a typical result.
Comparisons that name another clinic.
Prices presented as promotional offers rather than as posted prices.

These limits follow the Medical Service Act as well as our own editorial judgment.

Conflicts of interest

We state these plainly, because they are real and because you cannot weigh our content without knowing them.

Commercial relationships. Dr Hyoung Moon Kim serves on advisory boards for Medytox, Sciton, BTL, Lumenis, Jeysis, Wontech and SheNB. Several of these companies make devices or products that are used at this clinic and described on this site.

Editorial and society roles. Dr Kim is Editor-in-Chief of The Aesthetics and edited a volume published by Springer. He is President of ICLAS and Chairman of KFCC.

Commercial interest in the treatments described. This is the website of a clinic that is paid to perform the treatments it describes.

What we do about it. An advisory relationship does not decide what appears on this site, and no device or product is described more favorably because of one. Where a page discusses a device made by a company an author advises, that relationship is stated on the page itself. Which treatment suits you is decided in consultation after examination, and that includes the option of no treatment.

No company pays for placement on this site, and no page here is sponsored content.

Keeping pages current

Treatment pages are re-checked on a fixed cycle, and also whenever an approval, a safety notice or a society guideline changes in a way that affects what a page says. The review date shown on a page is the date it was last checked, not the date it was first written.

Corrections

If we get something wrong we correct it and say what changed. The procedure, including how to tell us, is in the Correction Policy.

Applies to every page on this site. See also the Medical Review Process and the Medical Disclaimer.