angleplane Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 @dulce_de_leche : I thought my rib rhinoplasty was reversible, but my smile is still significantly altered. I think in general, when plastic surgery is successful, people don't really notice or say "oh, you look fresh, have you lost some weight?" My mother saw me for the first time yesterday. She didn't notice much as she doesn't know much about plastic surgery. Then, when I was at her friend's house today, as I was talking, she starred at me talking and then said : -"Look at me." (silence) Then, she said :-"Now, smile." And I forced as much as I could to smile, so the upper lip would go as high as before, and my mother's friend said : "Oh, she's just like my son, when I ask him to smile he just winces." Then, we moved on. Half an hour later, I went to the bathroom and smiled several times. I know I have to force in order to smile now, and I don't have a beautiful smile like I used to have, but I still have hope within me that it is because of the 2 pieces of rib cartilage left on the side walls of my septal cartilage. I also hope it is due to the cut of the columella for the open rhinoplasty. Also, I don't know if it is the nose projection, but it seems that the projected tip has given the impression that my mouth is retruded (more in the back compared to the nose tip that we see first) and overall my mouth/smile looks smaller. I can't wait to go back to Korea and have all the rib cartialge grafts removed, but on the other hand I am scared of my columella scar that will be open a third time and I am very scared to worsen my smile. I look much older and uglier with my new smile as it had also changed my face when I talk (from my experience today). I hope nerves will grow back or that it is only due to the open rhinoplasty, but I have the impression that my smile will not go back to what it used to be. Can anyone tell me if it could just be the fact that a nerve between the tip of the nose and the mouth was cut and that this type of nerve do grow back ? I think I heard that once, but I also heard that nerves just do not grow back, so I am confused about the answer to that question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angleplane Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 @Kain : Don't worry, it is not because we had different experiences / opinion about the rib nose that I do not like your contributions. I am very grateful to you for all the info you posted and I never felt attacked by any of your post. I think you are a very helpful forumer as your posts are very informative and thank you for sharing your experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angleplane Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 @catcafe: From others' experience. I would recommend a closed rhinoplasty for a primary one. If I were you I would consult Dream clinic (they operated celebrities), but they use silicone which is a foreign material that I wouldn't use. I think the other clinics you mentionned are a good choice. They're all equally good, I just read in this thread or the Asian nose job 1, that the rhinoplasty doctor at Dream recommended closed rhinoplasties too. For revision of previous open rhinoplasties, I don't think the surgeon will opt for a closed rhinoplasty as he needs to see the previous work done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angleplane Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 @boyinokc : I agree that rib cartilage re-absorbs a lot after few months and then still after some years. I also mentionned that one VIP patient came back for correction for uneven swelling, so it implies that there was re-absorption. From Kain's experience and 3rd month post-op pictures, he said his rib went down from the middle of the eyebrows to the level of his pupils. I remembered that very well as that was my biggest hope before I had the rib removed. I think that the main re-absorption occurs within the first year or first 3 or 6 months. In my case, after 2 months, the rib removed was still approximatively 4mm width and 6cm long. I don't know how much it would have re-absorbed after waiting more months or a few years but as I said on the post, I don't think it would have disappeared (lowered in width by 4mm), as I already think my natural bridge is too high. I have a low radix though, but I like it as it sorts of give a concave curve to my nose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dulce_de_leche Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Prettypremed, how many mm did you gain on your bridge with the "DC-F"? I might think about going to him or Dr Rollin Daniel if I don't go to korea. I didn't find any pics on Dr Daniels website for asian patients w DC-F, which sucks. I read good and bad reviews about Dr Charles Lee as well and some of his previous customers recommend going to korea for the surgery b/c Dr Lee charges too much. Angleplane, I'm surprised that rhinoplasty could have a drastic change the smile... It is kinda shocking. It make me wonder, do you think it might have anything to do with your jaw shaving surgery also? Shrinking the jaw could have shrank skin and lips...How about bringing your teeth outwards with braces or veneers? Maybe this will make your lips stand out more? Something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prettypremed Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 hey! I only needed 1.5 mm of height. With that technique you can get up to like...6mm but thats pretty huge lol So suffice it to say, can get the height you want. My bridge was already kind of tall, but the radix area dipped in wayyy to much so gave me a "triangle" nose. I just needed something to fill the dip in and smooth everything out. I didnt need to alter my nostrils either, just did some refinement on the tip projected it out a little more. I asked him about the terrible reviews. He said exactly what I expected: Higher volume of patients will statistically increase the negative feedback. I chose Dr. Lee precisely because the high volume of specifically Asian patient noses he has operated on. Where I work, we get reviews. I work for a well known corporation and the only reviews we ever get are people who have the energy to write it down..and that energy is anger fueled. When you're content you just chill out. lol I decided against going to a foreign country due to my beliefs that medical school in America is top notch and highly competitive to get into, especially into a plastic surgeon specialty....any hoo I am planning to post up a long review about my experience and pre and post op photos. I have both negative and positive things to say about him. I have my cast taken off in a couple days so I am pretty excited. My swelling is pretty minimal, my ear is looking pretty normal. I'll let you know!!! This forum and rateMDS, etc..all helped me SO MUCH. GOtta pay it forward! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vk82 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 @dulce_de_leche fat grafts are fat cells harvested from your body ( think liposuction) and then redistributed to any parts of your face e.g. forehead cheeks chin eyebags to give you a more fuller look. it can be used to fill in wrinkles or sunken cheekbones to give a more youthful look. i think it is a safer alternative than having a slicone forehead implant. However with fat grafts it tend to reabsorbed if not done correctly by the doctor. Some members had fat grafts done and it had reabsorb back in a couple of months . So you may have to do a second or third fat graft again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taeyang123 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 hey, i think everyone here including myself can appreciate angleplanes very detailed and informative review. i think rib can be a great option if you know the risks, and are willing to live with a stiffer nose. not everyone has sufficient amounts of ear or septal cartilage so rib is a good alternative for those ppl if ure willing to live with the trade-offs of rib. i hope everything goes well for you and u end up getting the nose tht u like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyjim Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Does anyone know if VIP or any other Korean clinic do diced cartilage (or even fascia wrapped cartilage)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyjim Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Looking at that pdf file again, diced cartilage looks pretty damn good if the doctor has the experience and the skills to back it up. It looks really flexible, like a soft sausage, and it says there is little need for over-correction. Wish I knew who are among the best doctors for this method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angleplane Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 @prettypremed : Yeah, my mother who doesn't know anything about plastic surgery, she didn't notice my eye surgery, the facial contour surgeries, nor the nose tip surgery (bridge is back to natural now), but she noticed my changed smile...even though I thought it was on its way back to normal in the mirror, but far from it on pictures. I guess it is even different when we talk in real. My nose still has the projection of after my VIP operation. The space between the nose and lip is completely straight, like on the before and after correction of a protruded mouth, but I just want my nose to be retruded and the protruded mouth gives the impression of a bigger mouth (like Adriana Lima). I just want to make my nose smaller, so the attention is drawn on my eyes and smile, like before. Maybe the 2 pieces of rib cartilage on the side walls of the septal cartilage contribute to the nose projection. As for those writing long reviews are "filled with anger"...I hope I did not leave this impression, as this is not my case. It was a lot of work for me to write this review, I don't enjoy writing it, but the benefit of it is that I feel like I have answered everyone's question in one trait, as I don't like to repeat all the info I've gathered over and over as I receive questions, also, I don't like to leave questions that were asked to me unanswered but maybe I'll have no choice when I start my term. Now, hopefully they were all answered on the forum. @prettypremed: I wanted to say thanks for the fascia info and sharing your experience, your posts are very informative and helpful @tonyjim: Dr Lee VIP does fascia, as he used it on Destiny I think. Nevertheless, other Korean surgeons systematically for bridges, so maybe it is better to go to them as they probably are more comfortable with it. I think each surgeon have their favorite material that they are used to use (and therefore, have more experience with it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saphiree Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 This forum is so informative! Angleplane you've been especially helpful recently, thank you. I'm sorry for all the difficulties you had to face, you're very brave. I'm so scared of what's to come after I've already knuckled down the actual surgery itself (massive needle phobia...). There's been a lot of talk about Korean clinics in this thread in comparison with the first one. However, I recently booked my appointment with Dr Kao in Taiwan. I've decided to stick with my original instincts and use only septal and ear cartilage. I'm hoping this will keep my nose more naturally "dexterous". If anyone has any experiences with Dr Kao and rhinoplasty I'd love to hear them! XXX. I'm also looking for a PS companion. I'm female btw, will be in Taipei from the 17th. Eeek. I figure moral support will make the healing process much easier for everyone, so please - if you're headed that way during the same time get in touch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angleplane Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Hi, I've found a video of a woman who have her mouth moving the exact same way as I do when I talk. Only the lower teeth are showing. I find it very ugly, even though the rest of her face is alright. I don't understand what is being said in the video (I don't speak Chinese). My biggest fear is to talk like that for the rest of my life, as it doesn't seem that she is few weeks post op (I don't even know if she talks about plastic surgery in the video). If my lips keep moving like that when I talk, I can say that I have permanently made myself uglier with the rib rhinoplasty.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fchduuZ3qFc&feature=relmfu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candyshop Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 PM'd you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prettypremed Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 @angelplane: Hey nooo you don't sound anger fuel at all! Just super disappointed that you did not achieve the results you worked so hard to get. I understand, I did my eyes three times. I know that feeling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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