What is a “ghost doctor,” and how do you avoid one?

“Ghost doctor” (or ghost surgery) is one of the most serious risks discussed in Korean plastic-surgery communities. It means the surgeon who operates on you is not the one you consulted with and agreed to — often a junior doctor, a dentist, or even a nurse, swapped in once you’re under anesthesia.

Why it happens

High-volume “factory” clinics run several operating rooms at once to maximise throughput. The well-known doctor whose before-and-afters sold you meets patients and starts cases; less experienced staff finish or perform them. Because you’re sedated, you never know.

How to lower the risk

• Ask, in writing, that your named surgeon performs the entire operation, and whether they’ll be running parallel surgeries that day.
• Ask what happens if they’re unavailable on the day — will you be rescheduled, or handed to someone else?
• Prefer single-surgeon or small clinics where the doctor’s name is the practice’s reputation.
• Request CCTV footage of the operating room — since 2021, Korean law requires clinics to install cameras and provide footage on request.
• Be wary of unusually low “package” pricing and hard upsells at consultation — both correlate with volume-driven models.

Reading the discussion

When you see “factory clinic,” proxy surgery, or “was it even him?” in a thread, that’s the community flagging this exact concern. It’s worth reading those posts in full before you put down a deposit — search any clinic name on Misolist and the cautionary threads are indexed alongside the praise.