vk82 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Yes i agree i think hers was a very serious case that none of the korean doctors wanted to mess with it. it seems that she might of had multiple revision done to her nose because she didn't have any cartilage or anything else to support her nose except the rib grafts . Duh of course your nose is gonna collapse if you take out the ribs. Now i just don't understand why people keep having multiple revisions over and over for vanity reasons or not you just shouldn't touch it . Michael Jackson had multiple revisions to his nose and look what happen his nose it's gone. From what i heard or read he wears a fake nose prostethic and makeup to cover up all the bad nose job surgery. i think one or two revision is okay but after that maybe your nose starts to collapse. So People if it looks okay or decent don't mess with it otherwise you'll end up looking like Michael Jackson. By the way i'm not trying to disrespect Michael Jackson i actually think he is a very talent artist and singer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vk82 Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hey Kain i wanted to comment on your surgery for a long time but been silent . You are a testament to the skills and artist of Dr. LEE work of art. i mean what a transformation on the before and after pics. Now that's the kind of transformation i want dramatic and i don't even mine if i looked different or eurasian. You really did inspired me and had it not been for your pics i think i would have disregarded Dr. LEE . i bet all the girls who used to ignored you are really regretting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katherineiish Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 You mean your current alar nostrils look similar to Kain's before his surgery? Did you request a particular look from your alarplasty that you showed the surgeon, or did you just let them do what they thought was best? Sorry for all the questions haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reiyuna Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 What's 1/2 view? Profile? I am planning to put pics up of my recovery when I have a pc. Just been frequenting a library these days for net access! How long post op are u and did u use silicone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kekekeke Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Oops, I meant to say my before looks like Kain's alar nostrils before. I only requested "natural. one that would fit my other features". I didn't really have someone in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddelicious Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hi guys! I recently had rhinoplasty done in Seoul with Dr Lee of Banobagi. And this forum was so helpful for me in making my decision. So I would like to contribute a little back for those who follow Here are some of my experiences in consulting with the clinics - 1. Dr Jung Before I arrived, I had pretty much decided on Dr Jung because of his experience and reputation. But I had a few misgivings. First, I asked Jay (the manager) to make my surgery one day after my consultation so I could have some time to think because it was such a big decision. But he ignored that and made the surgery on the same day. Second, a few days before left for Seoul Jay called me and told me I had to be 100% sure that I would do the surgery with Dr Jung because he was really busy. Otherwise he would have to give away my surgery date to someone else. I guess I could have lied but I didn't. I told him I was not 100% sure and couldn't be without meeting Dr Jung first. On my insistence, he arranged for a call with Dr Jung. Dr Jung was very nice and understanding. In fact, he was surprised that my consultation and surgery was on the same day and arranged for two consultations before a tentative surgery date. Third, on the day of my first consultation Jay came to pick me up. He asked whether I had left my money in the hotel and I said yes. He then drove me back to the hotel and told me to get my money because it would be unsafe. The consultation with Dr Jung went pretty well - he was very nice and responsive but seemed to be in a rush - he was behind a large desk and didn't feel my nose like a lot of the other doctors did. After the consultation Jay asked me to pay straight away and I felt pressured into it. Lone story short, a few hours after I changed my mind and wanted to consult with a few more clinics first. The good part was they gave my money back without too much hassle. So basically I found Jay really pushy but Dr Jung was very nice although busy. 2. JW Clinic I just walked in to this clinic and Dr Suh was able to see me so that was good. Note however that they do not speak English at all but luckily for me I speak Mandarin and they had a Chinese translator on staff. The main thing that made me decide against this clinic was because when I said I didn't want a silicone implant, Dr Suh suggested harvesting material from either my skull or my butt...which I had never heard of before and really turned me off the clinic. 3. Dream Clinic Dr Park spoke a little English but not well. I quite liked him because when I said I didn't want a silicone implant, he didn't push it. He even suggested a filler made from my crushed septal cartilage to fill out the radix a little. But I decided not to go with him because our consultation was in a little nook next to the surgery room and he was in his scrubs. So it gave me the impression that he was really busy and had to juggle a lot of things at once - and I wanted a doctor who was fully concentrated on me during my surgery. Also he said he had to cut on the outside of my nose for my alarplasty which turned me off due to the risk of scarring. 4. VIP Clinic The clinic itself is very nice and have a few people who speak English on staff. I just walked in and both Dr Lee and Joann were able to see me after a short wait. There were three reasons why I decided not to go with VIP. First, before I went up for my consultation I saw a girl who had obviously had surgery there. Her cast was off so it would have been at least one week post-op. And her nose was huge. And her face was so small. I know that it may partially have been due to swelling but still...it was not promising. Second, let me preface this by saying that Dr Lee was very nice. But his style is very dramatic whereas I wanted a more natural result. It seemed to me that instead of making a nose that suited the rest of my face, he wanted to change my whole face to suit what he believed to be the golden line or perfect facial proportions. And like everyone else on this forum, I was recommended rhinoplasty was rib cartilage, paranasal, forehead fat graft and genioplasty. Maybe if I had gotten all that done I would have looked beautiful but I would not have looked like me anymore...So I would only recommend Dr Lee for someone who wants a big change and doesn't mind looking very different. Third, Joann was very responsive when I sent her emails before I arrived and gave me really detailed information which I appreciated. But she sold hard. And in my opinion, the clinic recommended procedures that were not necessary for me and not in line with the natural look I told them I wanted. 5. Grand Clinic I actually just walked by this clinic and decided to go in because I remembered the name from a few forums. Again, they do not speak English here but had a Chinese translator. I consulted with a youngish doctor called Dr Park. I think he was by far the doctor that understood what I wanted. It was like we were on the same wave length. I told him I wanted something natural and he just recommended alarplasty and tip plasty. He was the first doctor not to recommend an implant for me. He took a lot of time explaining every little thing he was going to do and drew pictures to show me exactly what he meant. I loved the detail he went into and the natural result he wanted to achieve. The only thing that was missing was that I could not find anyone on any forum who had done rhinoplasty at Grand nor anything specifically on this Dr Park. 5. Banobagi Banobagi was the clinic I ended up choosing. I liked Dr Lee a alot, only slightly less than Dr Park of Grand. He first asked me what I thought my biggest problems were before making his recommendations - and we both agreed it was the alar and tip. He initially wanted to put into a silicone implant but when I said I didn't want it he didn't push it. He also suggested a fat graft on the radix as an alternative. But assured me that even if I didn't get an implant, the alarplasty and tip plasty alone would make a big difference for me. I had two consultations with Dr Lee and one more right before my surgery. He was very patient with me which I appreciated. Feel free to ask if anyone has any questions about these clinics. I am still in Seoul waiting for my nose to deswell so I have got plenty of time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migookinamja Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Yes, profile is directly from the side. 1/2 profile is what I term between profile and straight on, 45 degree, 3/4, we're all talking about the same thing. I'm not asian so I didn't really need an augmentation. I may have had a radix graft. Will find out tomorrow when I see the surgeon in LA. I'm about 5 weeks post op. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migookinamja Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Nice writeup. Do you remember the prices they quoted you at all the places? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catcafe Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 thanks for the post! i'm interested in banobagi the most right now. i have some questions: 1) did they speak english? 2) did they have accommodation? or discount on hotels nearby? 3) how much are the prices around? 4) how are you finding the healing process? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_franc Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 When I had my primary rhinoplasty (I shaped silicone implant and ear cartilage for tip) the shape of my eyes changed because the swelling tugged my eyes inwards, but it went away after 1 1/2 - 2 weeks post op and my eyes were back to the way they were pre op. When I had my revision (with the same doctor, he changed the implant and told me that he will fix the deviation of the implant) my eyes changed shaped again like my previous rhino. But when I did my 2nd revision with Rib graft in VIP, my eyes did not change shape for some reason. I always thought that they would but they didn't. The only swelling I have is where the paranasals are and they make smiling akward. I think rib grafts can be done in 3 hours. i think it all depends on the surgeons method. I can't say for certain though. When I had revision the surgery took almost 2 hours and it was done using the closed method (endonasal). When I had my surgery at VIP, Dr. lee had to preform turbinoplasty (cause I had severe nasal deviation) before he could proceed with the revision with the rib graft. My surgery took 6 hours from what JoAnn told me. I had turbinoplasty plus revision with rib graft and paranasal. Oh and Dr. Lee used ear cartilage on me as well. So rib and ear. I don't know if 6 hours is a long time or not. But from what I know I was the only one having surgery that day (lucky me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddelicious Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hi migookinamja Here are the prices I remember: 1. Dr Jung = 4500 USD for alarplasty, tip plasty and goretex implant 2. JW = 4 million KRW for alarplasty, tip plasty and silicon implant 3. Dream = 3.85 million KRW for alarplasty, tip plasty and crushed septal filler 4. VIP = 8500 USD for rhinoplasty with rib cartilage / 1500 USD for paranasal / 1500 USD for alar base reduction / 2000 USD for forehead fat graft / 1500 USD for chin fat graft 5. Grand = 2.8 million KRW for alarplasty and tip plasty 6. Banobagi = 2.53 million KRW for alarplasty and tip plasty / 3.3 million for alarplasty, tip plasty and silicon implant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_franc Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I think silicone implant on the bridge is fine. From what I know, silicone is stable and inert and infection is just a case to case basis. The main problem with silicone before was that most of the silicon implants before were L-shaped, so it would lay on the bridge and extend all through out the nasal tip and the "edge" of the "L" would support the tip (like a tent to raise the tip up). Since the nasal tip is quite mobile, the implant would make the skin on the tip thin over the years and that's when the implant extrudes. But this was like 10-15 years ago when the only silicone nasal implant was L shaped. I think the safer one now is the I shaped implant because it only lays on the bridge and they usually use septal or ear cartilage for the tip. But if your just talking about silicone as a sheet to cover a nasal bump it should be fine I guess. I had silicone before and my nose was shiny but its not that obvious. The only people who could tell where those who had silicone as well. There are 2 colors though when it comes to silicone implants. One is opaque and the other one is beige. My surgeon told me before that the beige one is less shiny. Both are made in the US and there is no difference in price and quality from what he told me. Its just the surgeons preference. But he used both and I asked for the beige one. I think silicone is a good enough material for rhinoplasty, I just chose rib graft for my 2nd revision because my silicone implant always shifted... like right away... a week post op. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddelicious Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hi catcafe 1. Dr Lee speaks a little bit of English and they have an English translator called Mira so communication was pretty good 2. They have a guesthouse where you can stay for a night or two after surgery for 30k KRW per night. And I think they have some arrangements with hotels around the area for discounted stays but I didn't stay with them so I don't know the prices. NOTE however that the guesthouse and most of the hotels are near their Yeoksam branch. But the rhinoplasty stuff has been moved to their newly opened Gangnam branch. 3. They quoted me 2.53 million KRW for alarplasty and tip plasty. And 3.3 million KRW for the same but with silicon implant. The numbers are a bit weird because of the 10% tax... 4. The first day or so was the worst! Haha. Luckily I met two other ppl from this forum who invited me to stay with them for the first few days and that really helped. I cannot reiterate enough that anyone wanting to do this should bring someone with them or meet up with others from this forum. I am 14 days post-op so the swelling has gone down a lot. For Banobagi in particular, they remove the stuffing from inside your nose on day 1. Then the bandages and outside stitches on day 5. And finally the inside stitches on day 10. I think the healing is the same everywhere but I did notice that Banobagi spent a little more time on helping the process. For example, I got a detailed information pamphlet about what to expect in the next few days and how to look after my nose as well as a pack of stuff - two eye masks, face mask, gauze, cotton buds, hydrogen peroxide solution, some kind of ointment and even nose pore strips lol. I was told to cold mask for 3 days then hot mask for the next 7 days. As well as to clean my nose a few times a day with hydrogen peroxide and then apply ointment. From the experiences of the two other ppl I met, it was just a little extra attention to healing which was good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_franc Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 hey everyone... I have been a lurker for a really long time and this forum was really helpful so I decided to share my experience with Rhinoplasty. I recently had my 2nd revision rhinoplasty done at VIP with rib cartilage graft (almost 3 weeks post op actually) and I am satisfied with the results. This was my 2nd revision and my 4th rhinoplasty (I know it seems a lot but I promise my nose doesn't look like Michael Jackson's ). Here is a run down of my previous rhinoplasties. 1st rhinoplasty - was just tip refinement. The surgeon trimmed the cartilage on my nasal tip and did domal suturing to make the tip more defined. After the surgery I didn't see any difference at all. I felt like I paid money... went through recovery and I didn't see any difference. 2nd rhinoplasty - still the same surgeon. He suggested I-shaped silicone implant and ear cartilage. After the cast came off. I saw that my nose was a bit crooked and it seemed like the implant was sitting more to the left side of my nose. My surgeon assured me that it was just swelling and it would go away. 8 months post op the implant was clearly off center and my surgeon told me the implant is off center and he offered to revise it for free. 3rd rhinoplasty (1st revision) - still with the same surgeon, he took out the implant and removed the scar tissue and replaced it with a new silicone implant and he "cut" a muscle which he said was pulling my implant to one side. After the cast came off, I could still see that the implant was a bit off center BUT I was more swollen this time so I thought that it would just be uneven swelling. So I gave it time and I followed my surgeons advice of taping my nose while the scar tissue hasn't formed to nudge the implant to the center. After 6 months post op the implant was clearly off center. So I went back to my surgeon and he told me that he could revise it again for free but he did not know what was causing my implant to shift. 4th rhinoplasty (2nd revision) - I consulted with a couple of doctors and decided on going with Dr. Lee of VIP. During our consultation, he used the endoscope and showed me the inside of my nose. My nose was clearly deviated and he explained to me that no matter how many times I change my implant, if my nasal deviation will not be corrected the same thing will happen, the implant will shift. So I went ahead with Dr. Lee and I chose rib cartilage graft. So far its still 3 weeks post op, but I am happy with the results. I feel that Dr. Lee did a good job although its still too early to tell but so far so good. As for recovery... I did not swell as much during my last revision and I always thought that I would since it would be more "aggressive" (being an open type rhinoplasty) and add to the fact that I was so swollen during my first revision that I looked like a howler monkey, I expected the worst. But it was the opposite. I did not swell at all. I wasn't as swollen as the other patients. I took Sineech(arnica montana) for this revision because I heard that it minimizes the swelling and bruising. But according to JoAnn, healing depends on the person and the Sineech probably helped but she thinks I heal fast and its not because of the supplements. Recovery from rib rhinoplasty was a bit challenging, although recovery did not hurt as much as i expected it to be, getting out of bed was quite a challenge because of where they took the rib graft and I developed a cough post op and I kept on coughing and that really hurt. The other thing was I had a fever because of the urinary tract infection. I got UTI from the catheter. My friend who is a surgeon told me that developing UTI from a catheter is quite common so I didnt need to worry. So in case any of you are thinking of doing rib rhino, just bring some cranberry supplements or extract and use it right after surgery IF you have UTI. Post Op I used the following supplements: - Sineech (arnica montana) - bromelain - vitamin C (1000mg a day) - Zinc (50mg a day) - and just recently I found a gel at the pharmacy that they use for dental/orthodontic surgery (I had paranasal implants). Its a hyaluronic gel that helps in post surgical recovery. I apply the gel on my gums where the incision from the paranasals were and it made the swelling go down faster and made my smile less akward although it still is a bit akward. Eventhough I chose rib cartilage graft for my most recent (and hopefully last!!!) revision, I still think that there are other suitable implant materials for rhinoplasty. Silicone is still a good choice, it has been around for 50 years and is considered safe. Its just the method of the surgeon that matters. I may have had bad experience with silicone but I have seen people who have silicone implants for more than 10 years and it still looks ok. I would advise people to stay away from L shaped silicone implants though except if you have really thick skin. L shaped silicone does make a really defined nose but the cons outweigh the benefits in my opinion. And you have to be careful with L shaped implants as well because they are quite mobile and if you hit you nose quite hard it could be a problem. I heard that goretex is good for people who are more active because it is more softer and even if you bump your nose it would not matter that much from what I heard. But it can be difficult to remove from what I have researched, yet some doctors say its not that difficult to remove using the right technique. Rib cartilage grafts is not a new thing when it comes to rhinoplasty. They have been used for quite a long time now but as someone has said on the forum it is used primarily for reconstructive/revision rhinoplasties. I guess most doctors are not willing to do revisions with rib cartilage grafts because it is a relatively new thing in Asian Rhinoplasty. The implant of choice for Asian rhinoplasty for the past couple of years have always been silastic implants (ie silicone, medpore, etc...). Silastic implants are cheaper and can be carved to any shaped by the surgeon thus it is relatively easy to customize to fit a patient. Autologous implants require additional incision sites (ie, ear, rib and yes even skull and other parts) and are considered more invasive thus most surgeons don't perform it on a daily basis. Most western doctors don't favor silastic implants because most caucasians have really thin skin and silastic implants don't work well with people who have thin skin. But Asians have thicker skins so silastic implants could work perfectly for most Asians. I think there is no perfect implant material for rhinoplasty. There are always pros and cons. it is up to you and the surgeon to weigh things and surgery is always a gamble in my opinion so people should be ready for the results. I am happy with the results of my rib cartilage graft from VIP, and I wish this is going to be my last rhinoplasty. I received really good after care from the clinic and I was there during busy season. I saw a lot of people whenever I had my dressings changed. The most important thing with choosing a surgeon is that you should feel comfortable and have complete trust on your surgeon.Thats why its important to go to different consultations. I felt comfortable with Dr. Lee and JoAnn so I chose VIP. If my previous surgeon had experience with rib cartilage grafts I would have done my revision with him but he is more partial to silastic implants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddelicious Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hi reiyuna I am 2 weeks post-op from rhinoplasty with Dr Lee at Banobagi and was wondering how long it took for your trip to deswell completely? Mine has gone down a lot but I want it to go down just a little bit more? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
)
Recommended Posts