VIP Plastic Surgery Dr Lee - Ethnic Rhinoplasty HORRIBLE Experience

[jessicat_06]

eurasianbeauty said: ↑

Go to realself and look Dr. Lee up. If you persist after all of these warnings, then whatever happens, happens. But you were warned.

Click to expand...

I really appreciate people posting their reviews, it helps others who might fall prey to another botched surgery. I'll definitely check out Realself. I've not looked on there before. I'm new to purseforum as I'm trying to gather as much research as possible before diving in! Any surgeons/clinics that you've found particularly special during your research hunts online that you'd recommend?

 

[jessicat_06]

eurasianbeauty said: ↑

Go to realself and look Dr. Lee up. If you persist after all of these warnings, then whatever happens, happens. But you were warned.

Click to expand...

 

[jessicat_06]

It seems all his reviews are stellar. Where are all these botched surgeries he's done? There is always going to be bad reviews online. You can't please everyone. But definitely a good idea to do throurgh research beforehand.

 

[jessicat_06]

orangeifi said: ↑

I went to VIP because of Dr Lee’s experience specialty in ethnic rhinoplasties. I am from California and could have gone to a Bay area surgeon for the same price, but I felt since Dr Lee does primarily ethnic noses, he would be my best choice. Wow was I wrong. My results are not 'botched' or horrible (besides perhaps the alarplasty), but they are not what I asked for or expected. I loved my nose before, it fit me very well, but wanted to correct small imperfections that bothered me a lot in photos and especially the deviated septum for breathing. I now feel I hate my nose like people usually do when they desperately seek surgery.

Me and my nose: Hispanic male, long, wide, bulbous, droopy, masculine nose with wide nostrils

Consultation: In the consultation I described the problems I wanted to fix to Dr Lee regarding my nose as the asymetry, the droopy tip, and the deviated septum. I told him I liked how it looked like from the side, but the asymmetry from the front is where I wanted to focus. He told me I had a very droopy bulbous nose. I showed him photos of his work that I liked, and photos of his work that I did not like. I specifically showed him a photo of a straight tip, and an over rotated tip. I specifically commented I did NOT want the tip to be rotated as such as he did on a previous patient. I asked Dr Lee what he would do technically to correct my problems. He commented he would use grafts to shape the tip, he then used a camera to go up my nose to diagnose my deviated septum and discussed breathing issues related to it and correcting it. He recommended rib rhinoplasty, but mentioned he could do septal grafts for my nose, but because I had such a droopy tip rib would be best. Considering I wanted a natural result and had in mind septal would limit the amount of augmentations he could do, I elected for septal cartilage. Right before the consultation was over he asked about my alar base. I told him I liked my wide nostrils and DID NOT want my alar base altered. He agreed and commented that when he projects the tip out the nostrils will naturally become less wide.

After the consultation I paid for the surgery the next day. Later that day I came back to view the digital imaging. I was very concerned because the augmentations were greater than expected so I was eager to talk to Dr Lee again. I knew I would see him the next day before surgery, so I made a list of things I wanted to communicate in my mind. I also noted in my mind that I was not shown digital imaging from the front. I assumed this is because the changes from the front would be minimal (BIG mistake).

Day of Surgery: After dressing into surgery clothing, I was told Dr Lee was running a bit late because of traffic. That was fine. I was then taken to the operation room. I began being a bit nervous because they inserted the IV tub into my arm and I had not seen Dr Lee yet. I asked what they were injecting and they commented it was no the aesthetic that would put me asleep. Finally Dr Lee showed up and as he reviewed my pre-imaging I stressed to him again, I DID NOT want the tip overrotaed, and that I did NOT want it rotated above the digital imaging. He dismissed me and told me ‘not to worry.’ This left me nervous because I felt I was not being listened to. Then he proceeds to ask about my alar base again. I reiterated I did NOT want it touched and that I liked my wide nostrils. The assistant then asked me what if it’s necessary? I was thinking okay maybe to improve my breathing? I could not think of a scenario why it would be necessary, so I receded. After he finished reviewing my papers, they told me to relax. I was still very nervous because I did not feel Dr Lee understood what I wanted, but because of his experience I trusted he did.

Results: Immediately after surgery I knew something was not right. The alar base had stitching, and based off what I could see with the cast, the nostrils were upward and my tip was very high. This caused me to panic for few days following. I saw Doctor Lee next on Day 3 and asked why was my tip so high when I specifically told him not to overrotate it??? He told me he overcorrected because I had a very droopy tip and it would drop a few mm. I tried to keep myself calm for the remainder of my time in Korea. On about Day 10 they took off all the dressing and bandages, and I was DISTRESSED.

Dr Lee corrected my septum and asymmetry, yes, but he also did WAY BEYOND what was asked or consented. The nose looked nothing like my natural nose, the nostrils looked notched, the bridge looked wide and flat, my entire face looked disoriented.

I tried to stay calm because I knew there was a lot of swelling involved. I am now 5 weeks post op, and after reviewing the surgery report I am extremely disappointed, and dissatisfied at what was done. Dr Lee performed WAY BEYOND what was asked or verbally consented, 80-90% of the augmentations and changes he did not discuss with me before surgery, and I am absolutely distressed and appalled at what my nose has become.

I had a long wide bulbous masculine droopy ethnic nose.

I asked to correct the asymmetry and support the tip with septal cartilage. I assumed the tip would still drip slightly because of how droopy is was before and the weaknesses of septal cartilage vs rib.

What I got was a overly-narrowed, overly-rotated, overly dissected what seems like Caucasian nose. Not only that he altered my alar base in the most unnatural fashion possible.

Initially I was extremely distressed over the alarplasty he performed and overrotation of the tip, but now that time has passed and it has healed some, and I have reviewed the surgery report, I can now Identify much more issues with what was done.

1. Lowering of Dorsum/Bridge via Rasping (basically nail filing the bridge)– I NEVER asked Dr Lee to augment my Dorsum. I also told Dr Lee in the consultation that I liked the nose from the side. I also was not informed before hand that he would be augmenting/rasping my Dorsum. My bridge has gone from sharp and ethnic to flat, wide, and too low for my face. My eyes now look more wide-set apart, and it has caused my eye area to look unrecognizable to myself.

2. Osteotomies (making cuts on the nasal walls to reposition) – I will assume this was done to correct asymmetry. However, again I was not told that this would be done during the consultation. I am assuming this is also impacting my eye area and was done to narrow my nose (something I also did NOT ask for)

3. Celphalic Trim (removing cartilage from the tip)– Dr Lee commented I had a bulbous tip in the consultation, but he did NOT inform me before hand that he planned to augment it. He especially did NOT tell me that he would be removing cartilage. An aggressive trim was performed, and the amount removed is not included on the report. My nose looks significantly smaller and now ‘button like’ because of this

4. Alar Base Reduction (removing tissue from the alar base to narrow the nostrils) – This is perhaps the most distressing of all the augmentations he performed. After Telling Dr Lee in consultation I did NOT want my alar base augmented, he insisted again in the surgery room while I already had the IV in my arm, and while I was trying to communicate my goals to him still. Not only did I decline his request again in the surgery room, he continued to insist and we aligned to only perform it if necessary. I assumed this was for medical necessity. After checking with clinic it turns out this was done for aesthetic reasons NOT medical. My nostrils are no longer wide and naturally ethnic. They are overly-narrow and have the most unnatural reattached looked to them that gives obvious signs that I have been operated on. Although the scars continue to heal, there is a clear dent in the grove where the alar base was reattached that looks totally unnatural. what could be done with the alar augmentations, they tell me NOW that it is irreversible. The alar base is the most unnatural augmentation that I have seen compared to all alarplasties I seen online. My nose is now overrotated beyond what was requested, the bridge is now lower flatter and wider which I never requested to augmented on, and I have a nose that has been completely robbed of its natural ethnic shape and identity. The clinic has told me the amount he removed was so small it cannot be measured, but I do not agree with that evaluation. Not only that, it looks SO SO SO unnatural.

Overall I am very disappointed and depressed over this experience and wish I would have never trusted Dr Lee or gone to Korea for that matter. I went to Dr Lee looking to enhance the natural beauties of my nose by correcting the imperfections that I saw, but instead he completely augmented away the natural ethnic beauty of the nose and corrected the imperfections that HE SAW.

Because of Dr. Lee’s experience and background and membership of multiple PS boards (including American) I made the very very very poor and regretful assumption that I could trust Dr Lee to be align with my goals and do what I asked. Instead It feels like I was given this factory nose that checks all the marks of what a ‘perfect’ nose is in the eyes of Dr Lee.

After talking with the clinic, I am even more disappointed. Dr Lee claims to not have rotated my tip at all during surgery (despite the cephalic trim and alar/tip sutures that align with techniques to rotate the tip upward, and despite that the tip and nostrils are both now UPWARD wtf???), the only response I have been getting is to wait a year for the results. I continue to send them questions to understand parts of the surgery report, but considering I am only 6 weeks post op, there is not much anything I can do. Even when a year passes and I can elect for a revision, I’m not sure what can be done to restore the natural beauty of my nose. The alarplasty is the most impactful in my eyes, and is the one that is irreversible.

I've returned to work now suddenly with extreme social anxiety and have been socially isolating myself from my friends and family. I feel disrespected and experimented on, rather than feeling more confident from enhancing my beauty. I do not feel like this nose is no longer mine, and I can no longer recognize myself when I look in the mirror. I am shocked at what I see and feel robbed of my ethnic identity/features. The below photo is from 3 weeks post op, the nose has continued to shrunk and is now much much smaller due to the celphalic trim and sutures that were put in to pull the tip even closer together.

Let me be clear, I should have never trusted Dr Lee and VIP as much as I did. But I felt pressured and overwhlemed and thought I could trust his certifications and experience. My advice to anyone out there considering PS, especially in Korea, is to meet with your Doctor 3 times and make sure he explains absolutely everything that he will do technically to you, and keep pressuring them until you are confident you are being respected and your words will be honored.

I honestly dont know what to do now. My confidence has been destroyed and even though I am blessed I was not completely botched, i do feel as so.

View attachment 4637566 View attachment 4637567 View attachment 4637567
View attachment 4637630

Click to expand...

I personally don't see anything wrong with the after pics. Definitely wouldn't say botched, but it seems your personal aesthetic opinion of what is attractive and what is not was not communicated effectively, or maybe you're are too hyper focused on your facial features or hard on yourself. But in my opinion, your new nose looks great, much better than what it used to look like.

 

[rachaelrosen]

It still looks masculine to me. It still looks like it fits your face to me, it doesn't look too white, and it doesn't look like the product of plastic surgery.

But dude... This is literally a list of things not to do. Always make sure you're on the same page with your surgeon before you pay or consent to surgery. They're skilled doctors, not mind readers, and their talent doesn't mean they can give you what you want if you don't communicate clearly.

"I loved my nose before, it fit me very well, but wanted to correct small imperfections" it's very difficult to make small changes. I know this might seem paradoxical to people, but small changes require a great degree of precision to not go further than intended. A tiny bit too far on a large procedure is a drop in the bucket, but a tiny bit too far on a micro procedure might mean going 50% further than intended.

 

[mazikeen]

rachaelrosen said: ↑

It still looks masculine to me. It still looks like it fits your face to me, it doesn't look too white, and it doesn't look like the product of plastic surgery.

But dude... This is literally a list of things not to do. Always make sure you're on the same page with your surgeon before you pay or consent to surgery. They're skilled doctors, not mind readers, and their talent doesn't mean they can give you what you want if you don't communicate clearly.

"I loved my nose before, it fit me very well, but wanted to correct small imperfections" it's very difficult to make small changes. I know this might seem paradoxical to people, but small changes require a great degree of precision to not go further than intended. A tiny bit too far on a large procedure is a drop in the bucket, but a tiny bit too far on a micro procedure might mean going 50% further than intended.

Click to expand...

Actually he was more than clear when he discussed everything with Dr. Lee during his initial consultation, reminded him again at the pre-surgery consultation and just before he was they administered the GA on the day of surgery - 3X in total. Dr. Lee ignored his wishes and went overboard with the surgery, making changes which the patient had clearly stated that he didn`t want. On the contrary small changes are routine procedures for skilled surgeons but clearly Dr. Lee isn`t as skilled as he touts himself to be.