felix77

The term 'jaw surgery' is often used incorrectly by some plastic surgery clinics, to confuse patients - in my opinion. There are two kind of surgeries involving facial bones: Orthognathic Surgery and Facial Contouring.

Orthognathic surgery is a surgical operation that straightens the position of upper and lower jaw and changes occlusion, resulting in a harmonious facial line. It's a more fundamental surgery than facial contouring because it balances teeth, gum, and facial bone as a whole.

Facial contouring is a surgical operation that changes the exterior of facial bone with no effect on occlusion. It corrects the exterior parts of bones composing facial contour.

Square jaw reduction - in your case - is part of facial contouring. So there should be more available surgeons/clinics to choose from - as long as the surgeons have the experience and skill in craniofacial surgery. Note that not all plastic surgeons can do this safely and correctly.

On other side, orthognathic surgery requires a surgeon with dentistry knowledge. The more specific term is 'oral and maxillofacial surgery'. The real oral and maxillofacial surgeon must be a dentistry graduate, then he takes oral and maxillofacial specialization. So an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is NOT THE SAME as a common plastic surgeon - totally different. Be careful with surgeons or clinics that offer the so called 'two-jaw surgery' or 'maxillofacial surgery' without proper qualification in that field. Many botched 'jaw surgeries' done by these kind of surgeons/clinics. If you go to the real oral and maxillofacial surgeon, the risk of failure or complication will be minimal, for sure.

What is the best clinic/surgeon? Do your own research based on the surgeons' CV and experiences.

 

Simple. Learn Korean and you'll be fine without an interpreter. (I think the correct term is 'interpreter', not 'translator' since you don't translate any documents).

Learning a foreign language for the sake of your own face (and future life) is indeed worthy...don't you think?

Whether it's true or not, I won't put myself at risk.
If you think it's safe using their service, go ahead. The choice is yours.

 

I found this:
http://www.southkorea.embassy.gov.au/files/seol/Australian%20Embassy,%20Seoul_List%20of%20TranslatorsInterperters_ver2013.pdf

You can download the pdf file above.
This is a list of official translator/interpreter services provided by the Australian Embassy, for the information of Australian Travellers and those needing assistance in South Korea.

Since these should be professional services, you definitely pay more for the interpreter, but the clinic will quote you normal price, not the insanely marked-up price to compensate the commission for those 'illegal' translators.

 

Check this one:
https://sites.google.com/site/seoulhairplant/testimonials/acustomersreview

There's exactly the same review on the testimonial page of the English site. It should be written by the same person.

 

I suppose within next year. I think you may also check Everm dental clinic (see my previous post for the link). Unfortunately, they have no English website. Looks like they're specialist in dental and jaw surgery. Please keep me updated. Thank you.

 

I see. Thanks for your info. I'd consider this clinic as well as Face Han and Everm.

Btw, is Everm Dental Clinic also popular on naver forum? Unfortunately, their website is in Korean. Here's the link: http://www.everm.net/main/index.jsp
This clinic was recommended by a member here. If you understand Korean, perhaps you can check their website and give me your personal opinion? Thanks.

One more thing. What surgery you did with Dr. Kang? 2-jaw surgery? Was the result satisfactory? Please let me know when the website is ready.

 

Really? Are those reviews truly reliable? I'm looking for a very skillful orthognathic surgeon. Do you know Dr. Han from Face-Han Clinic? Which one is better?

 

I think Sp0rty123 referred to 'AT Aesthetic Plastic Clinic'. Here's the link:
http://www.atro.co.kr/

The website is in Korean so I don't know its content. I suppose you have ever mentioned this clinic in one of your previous post (CMIIW), but I don't remember when.

 

Hi SeoulforReal, sorry I haven't PM you yet. Recently I'm very busy and still need some time searching for more info.
Refer to your above statement, does it mean that US maxillofacial surgeons are on par or even better than Korean ones?

As far as I know, Western docs generally use traditional approach for orthognathic surgery, i.e. orthodontics treatment first before bi-maxillary surgery, followed by orthodontics treatment again. On the contrary, Korean docs (claimed by ID Hospital as the pioneer of this technique) use a more radical approach by doing the surgery-first and then followed by orthodontics treatment. I personally prefer the second method because it greatly reduces the treatment time. Actually I got the name of several America's best maxillofacial surgeons, but I don't know if any of them is really an expert in this technique.

After doing internet search, I found out that there's a Spanish surgeon (Federico Hernández-Alfaro, MD, DDS, PhD, FEBOMS) who also uses the surgery-first approach. In his journal, it's mentioned that the performance of surgery without orthodontic preparation, followed by regular postoperative dental alignment, was proposed by Nagasaka H, Sugawara J, Kawamura H, et al (NOT BY KOREAN DOCS, esp. Dr. Park from ID Hospital). Does it mean that ID Hospital has made false claims?

I read from your previous posts about Dr. Han from Face-Han Clinic. He's a Korean maxillofacial surgeon trained in Germany. Does he follow the same traditional approach or the newer surgery-first method? What do you think? Should I choose Dr. Han or one of US docs?

Thanks.

 

Check PM.

 

Check PM.

 

I found this link. It's about ID hospital's dishonesty in an ad, exaggerating its doctors' experiences.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/02/116_129813.html

Unfortunately, the above link doesn't work by the time I write this post. It could be caused by the server maintenance or was removed on purpose for a particular reason.

However, you still can access the following cached copy from Google:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Qh3TI00B8NcJ:www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2013/02/116_129813.html+ID+Hospital+Korea&cd=17&hl=en&ct=clnk

For your convenience, I also quote the whole article as follows:

 

Hi SoulforReal,

You seem knowledgeable about the PS in Seoul. May I PM you? I need your advice regarding facial bone surgery there. Thanks.

 

First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your failed surgery at 'ID factory'. I never thought that they could do such terrible things and don't want to be responsible at all. Hope you're strong enough to go through all this and never give up the fight for the injustice you experienced from them.

Actually I'm planning to do two-jaw surgery at ID next year, but after reading your terrible story with them, I would rethink a thousand times to do it there.

If you don't mind, may I ask a few questions? I need to know the truth and must be extremely careful in search for a very reliable and trustworthy PS clinic, especially for a very invasive procedure like jaw surgery.

So the rumor is true? I read many times in this forum that ID often switches surgeons after the patient has been knocked out. Now it's even worse with the fact that Dr. Park has never done any surgery himself but always been in the consultation room all day long.

Are you still in touch with those 30 people? Especially with the 28-year Indonesian girl, because I'm also from Indonesia (an Indonesia-born Chinese to be exact). Could you inform me your blog's url? I still can't PM you yet (must be at least 10 posts).

Where did your friend do the surgery? At ID or other clinic?

I don't know if this can help you. Some time ago, I read a post from a Western guy who lives in Seoul (his nickname is SeoulForReal), mentioning Dr. Barry L. Eppley, an Indianapolis plastic surgeon. Are you from the states? I visited his website, looks like he's good in skull reshaping (a craniofacial surgery).

http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com/
http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com/

Skull reshaping can either reduce high spots or build out low or depressed bony contours. Skull augmentation uses a variety of synthetic materials. These include acrylic (PMMA) and hydroxyapatite (HA). These implants are like artificial bone and can be safely secured to the existing bone using small screws. Since our chin is part of the skull, I think it's also possible to correct your cut bone using this technique.

Anyway, it's just my personal opinion, I don't have any medical background. You can contact Dr. Eppley for consultation. Give it a try. Hopefully this can help you to revise the failed surgery, although it might not be 100% perfect.

 

Do you mean this Dr. Charles S. Lee? See below links.

http://www.realself.com/find/California/Beverly-Hills/Plastic-Surgeon/Charles-Lee
http://www.asiancosmeticsurgery.com/charles-lee.php

His profile in Realself.com looks quite convincing indeed. However, there are 2 bad reviews out of the total 13 reviews posted in Realself.com, as follows:

http://www.realself.com/review/beverly-hills-jawline-reduction-distorted-face
http://www.realself.com/review/nasal-augmentation-silastic-implant

I think one's status as a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon doesn't necessarily guarantee good surgery results.

 

It seems ID separates its English FB page from the Korean page.
The above url is its English page and the previous one I mentioned is its Korean page.

What about other clinics? Do they make 2 different pages for each language too?

 

I don't know about Dr. Charles S. Lee. But if you want to read negative comments about him, check the following thread (also from purseforum):

#

 

Added url of Teuim page on FB. Thanks to ms.rochelle for the info.

 

Thanks for your info. I noticed the last post was in Jan 2013, so I think it's not yet abandoned. Teuim is relatively small, unlike BK, Grand, ID, Banobagi, Pitangui, etc., so it might not have a dedicated staff to manage social media account.

Theoretically, a general plastic surgeon can do all kind of plastic surgeries. But to achieve best result (with minimum risk for sure), we need to go to a highly specialized surgeon who specifically does eye surgeries (for example) and nothing else. The same applies for rhinoplasty, maxillofacial surgery, craniofacial surgery and so on.

I personally have never done all these procedures yet, but in my opinion, I'll choose ID for two-jaw surgery; definitely not for nose jobs or epi. Teuim should be great for eyes, not for other procedures. As for nose jobs, I'm interested in Fresh Rhinoplasty & ENT clinic. Btw, have you ever heard about this Fresh clinic?

According to Teuim, their magic epi technique would leave no scar on the inner corner of the eyes, unlike conventional epi. I think there are some differences from the B/A pics of magic epi, but not so dramatic due to Dr. Kwon's natural eye approach.

 

Sorry I just found out ID's FB page. It's in Korean so I can't read the content. It seems they're quite popular among locals, have more likes than Pitangui.

I've added the url to your list below.

Item, Regen and VIP don't have FB page.
Teuim has Dr. Kwon personal acc. only.

 

I think both ID and Teuim don't have "Pages" account on FB, unlike BK, Pitangui, Grand, etc. But I found Dr. Park and Dr. Kwon individual FB accounts, representing ID Hospital and Teuim, respectively.

http://www.facebook.com/idhospital
http://www.facebook.com/teuim.drkwon

Personally, I'm interested in ID (for 2 jaw surgery) and Teuim (for magic epi). Pitangui also seems a good option for its Dental Care and Skin Care Center, but not sure about its Plastic Center.

Since there are so many clinics in Seoul (very confusing, sigh...), I need to do more and more research to find out the best ones for me. Hopefully I'll be able to go there within next year.

 

Hi, I've been a silent reader here since the last few months and just recently joined this forum. I read your last posts about your nose and will try to answer them all at a time. Hope this helps.


Rib cartilage

I did my own research and I think the use of rib cartilage for primary rhinoplasty is not recommended. It's more suitable for revision or reconstructive rhinoplasty after severe trauma.

Here are the explanations:
1. Rib cartilage should be taken as the last resort for revision rhinoplasty, since there could not be any nose jobs after using rib. Moreover, rib implant for nose bridge or nose tip will make it harder (stiffer) than usual and incapable of handling twist (cannot put pressure on the treated area).

2. Rib cartilage is also notorious for warping. It tends to have a memory and tends to warp (curve) over time. This can make the result unpredictable.

3. The grafts could become visible under the skin, shifted, reabsorbed/dissolved. This risk of re-absorption is thought to be greater when the cartilage is irradiated (in case the use of cadaveric cartilage / donated cartilage).

4. Potential risks of rib cartilage harvest: bleeding, scarring, pain, infection, collapsed lung (pneumothorax), chest wall deformity.

In recent years, many people have been touted that rib cartilage can create a natural and straight nose. And the worst part is that people believe rib cartilage is the best material for rhinoplasty because it costs the most, as those lack of conscience hospitals told them so even for the primary nose job (because nose job with rib cartilage is costly).

When considering a nose job, people should always understand their true needs first. Therefore, they should think carefully before choosing rib for nose implant.


Open/Close operation for tip plasty

If you want to avoid scars on the nasal columella, choose a surgeon that capable of doing tip plasty by using autologous septal cartilage and perform it within the nasal cavity without skin incision (close operation/close rhinoplasty). It has a higher level of difficulty for the surgeon, but better result for the patients. This is the reason why not many surgeons are proficient enough with this method.

As far as I know, close-operation tip plasty using nasal septal cartilage was pioneered by Korean doctors, so I don't think you can get it from Thai doctors. Moreover, Korean doctors have better experiences in Asian nose.


Nose bridge augmentation

In the nasal bridge, a hard bone lies. Thus the use of solid implants such as Silicone and Goretex should not cause problems. And if you have thicker skin, then silicone is a better option.