cleftmale Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 I am a 32 year old, Male, Overweight, Born with a Cleft Palate Condition and have a rather asymmetrical facial profile and I work in the medical industry (I will spare the personal info here). I have had a very bad nose to begin with and I saw Dr. Hsu (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) of LeJade Clinic last year. I had: Facial Liposuction (gave me a better facial profile but a saggy double chin), Rhinoplasty, Lip Reduction and a Silhouette Lift. I had good results. He did some magic and gave me a much better looking nose and so I really can't complain about him; given the difficulty of fixing the nasal wings (alar) he gave me a rather drastic improvement. Everyone thinks that I've a good improvement on how I look and so I think I am getting a little greedy. My nose (despite the huge improve Dr. Hsu did for me) is still asymmetrical and still looks weird.. Because I was obese (and still overweight) my face is rather big due to muscles, fats, skin and possibly underlying boney structure. I was told by a Surgeon whom I know personally that I have a large jaw (which I didn't thought it was the case but it sort of bothers me now) and I will take that into consideration when I do my research for Plastic Surgery in Korea. Truth to be told. Surgical technique is pretty much similar regardless of surgeons anywhere in the world but the experience of different surgeons will make a difference with the outcome (and most importantly safety); I chose Surgery in Korea because I consider my case as a complex one and those doctors whom I know here in Thailand works mainly to feminize really masculine features for Transgender individuals (They do a really good job) and doesn't have much relevant experience into working with clients with a facial deformity. While for aesthetic reason, the double jaw surgery and v line surgery are really complex surgery that are performed in Korea are numbers that cannot possibly be matched anywhere else in the world. Knowing various craniofacial surgery due to profession, I know how difficult those boney works are. Because of how the procedures are marketed and how frequent they are performed. It's a decision that I've made (to have surgery done in Korea) after weighing various pro and cons. If I am a normal looking individual with the hope of getting better looking eyes, nose, facial profile etc.. I will first consider doctors in my own country due to the relatively easy access to post-operative care or even follow up with side effects or complications. I will post my updates on my research here in time to come in hope to provide some useful information to possibly another cleft individual like myself wanting to get Plastic Surgery to look the better version of themselves. I will of course appreciate any recommendations on where I should contact etc.. I will keep those in mind. ++ All opinions are mine only and does not represent what other people think or feel. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
cleftmale Posted October 28, 2016 Author Posted October 28, 2016 MVP Plastic Surgery In terms of "feeling" (First impression) I feel like their website has an excellent portfolio for cleft individuals like myself. It's also the only one I'd come across so far with so many before and after of Cleft Clients and I am quite glad to have visit their website. http://mvpps.comEmail QueryI am talking to Ms. Mindy Kim (My Case Manager) over email. I've gotten really helpful information so far with the clinic not promising results. They have offered me a minimal list of procedures which makes me feel that they are careful with what they recommend and the Doctor is involved in the reviewing of my case (my photograph and a set of X-Ray photos). I like them so far.
cleftmale Posted October 28, 2016 Author Posted October 28, 2016 View Plastic Surgery I contacted them because of many favourable reviews pertaining their clinic in many threads over various forums on the internet. http://www.viewclinic.com/engEmail QueryI sent them a email with my questions and they answered them accordingly. Their recommended procedure list is more than what I've seen from MVP which is cool. They didn't go all the way and recommend me any soft tissue works thus they didn't go over board as well. A thing to note is that their website doesn't feature a-lot of portfolio on clients with deformities (before and after) and they recommend me more procedures (answering to my needs from my query email) but that's what I want - a makeover of my own. They haven't shown to be pushy and want me to decide only after meeting with their surgeons which is a plus point. Claiming to have no accidents in the 11 years they are in business. I like them a-lot.
cleftmale Posted October 29, 2016 Author Posted October 29, 2016 I retract the statement in the thread above. I think it seems to be a marketing statement to say that they have no accidents for XX years... I'd seen Hershe claims to be medical accident free for 26 years but the Doctor is middle aged. It's not likely that he has 26 years of experience in Plastic Surgery after his General Medicine studies. JCI Accreditation tho is another thing that speaks volume. While it doesn't say how good they are but it is a general benchmark of medical safety standards.
k-couture Posted October 30, 2016 Posted October 30, 2016 I have a question. Out of curiousity, with cleft palettes isnt that a soft tissue issue? If so then how would facial contouring help since it addresses the bone?
cleftmale Posted October 30, 2016 Author Posted October 30, 2016 Hello K Couture, thanks for the question. I read almost everyone of your post already (^^) Cleft is a birth defect. It is never ONLY a soft tissue problem and in fact many of those 2 jaw surgery is a medical necessity for cleft patients. Other than accidents.. Cleft is one of the major reason / condition that will require specialised chin, jaw and surgery on the skull. These procedures are perform on Cleft patients as "Reconstructive Surgery" and on normal folks as "cosmetic surgery". In fact it is performed only on cleft patients elsewhere in the world other than Korea I think. If the doctor specialises in Cleft Clients.. They are probably much more abled to perform the usual cosmetic cases. As you can see. A cleft condition is a problem on the jaw. which is really complex.
cleftmale Posted October 30, 2016 Author Posted October 30, 2016 Before I had an upper jaw surgery at 15 years old. I can pull a noodle from my nose from my upper jaw because there is a hole up (upper jaw)
iodine Posted October 30, 2016 Posted October 30, 2016 Do you have any aspirations to lose more weight? Being overweight can warp the structure and proportion of the face; I lost 60 pounds and found that a lot of the issues I had with the shape of my face and even my eyes (I struggled with droopy/fatty lids) was less pronounced. Especially if you have been overweight since you were a child/adolescent, I really recommend diet and exercise for weight loss since you seem to be worried about a big face. Plus, facial lipo is very hit or miss when you are higher bf% because if you ever lose weight drastically, you may never regain the natural mass in areas where it would have looked normal (especially buccal fat from what I have read). I don't mean to come off as saying you don't need the surgeries you think you need, but I wonder if you will regret the look you aimed for if your weight changes, like I did. Otherwise, I know DA http://en.daprs.com/ has many good reviews for facial contouring. I myself am looking into them for this, but I do not know if they are experienced with facial deformity. I wish you all the best and hope that you get good results wherever you choose to go!
cleftmale Posted October 31, 2016 Author Posted October 31, 2016 Thank you. I do agree with the weight loss and I will work towards it ^^ I work in a stressful environment and I've the unfortunate habit of stress eating, I'll see. I've contacted DA and they have given me a helpful email.
gantz Posted November 3, 2016 Posted November 3, 2016 I saw that CBK PS has some cases of cleft, though you could check them out:http://www.cbkps.com/cn/board/beforenafter/lists/page/3 Apart from that I know nothing about this clinic and cannot vouch for them. I like their bone work though. Does anybody have any review or has heard anything about them??
k-couture Posted November 4, 2016 Posted November 4, 2016 Oh amazing thanks for the pics. I always thought it was an irregular development of the soft tissue, I never realized that there's actually a gap in the facial bone. I think perhaps to find a specialist for clefts you might want to look to the actual medical hospitals. I been to Seoul National University hospital before.....when I thought I had a blood clot but turned out I just pulled a muscle lol.....anyways I digress. The hospitals in Korea, the big ones anyway, and I am not referring to plastic surgery ones, they have a wing for international patients and student interns volunteer to translate. I think you can also get really good recommendations from speaking to the specialists there.
cleftmale Posted November 9, 2016 Author Posted November 9, 2016 Regen Plastic Surgery I have read a-lot about them and mostly from advertisements etc. I thought why not contact them to see if they may have some good opinions for me.Email Query I sent them a email with my questions and they didn't answer my questions at all. They gave me a price quote, told me about their discount options and that's it. Their Jaw reduction surgery fee is 11,000,000KRW which is the most expensive quote I've got so far I think. I also hate the fact that they slam you with the price without any opinions on yourself (when photos etc.. is already given). First impression is everything. Their first email is price, discount and nothing else. I don't know about everyone else - If my query aren't answered. I skip them.
cleftmale Posted November 20, 2016 Author Posted November 20, 2016 Galaxy Plastic Surgery I suppose this is a rather new name in the forum; this clinic is based in Busan. I had attended a Medical Tourism exhibition here at Beijing and I went in to their zone to get a consult as there is a Doctor around. The doctor have me a very different opinion that I've a skull asymmetry condition and that any plastic surgery done to my face may make it more asymmetrically off from the centre. He says I need to supplement my left cheek with a bone paste (I'm unsure), not to touch my nose (which is a disappointment) but he did say what I think is the main problem.. I've a problem with skin laxity, underlying muscles and elasticity (plus fats.. blah blah) and he recommended a modified version of face lift (or brow lift) that is done within the hair line. There is no single doctor who said that I just need a modified face lift over any other bone reduction procedure. This would had reduced the cost significantly. They also say I've a very small jaw (which I think I sorta agree as well).. we'll see. I've mix feelings about them but they did give me some good advise which is different from everyone else. If anything., they are really sincere.
cleftmale Posted December 15, 2016 Author Posted December 15, 2016 I have a busy schedule and was unable to plan ahead. I now have a window of free time between 27th December to 17th January, 2017. I will plan to visit some clinics between 27th - 29th December and will look into the availability of the clinic for early January, I will make a decision based on safety & feeling. I won't jump into a decision just because a date is available or they make a special "offer". DA was originally my top choice but I read on another thread that they left a gauze in a Thai patient (etc..) and I decided to skip them because I don't feel safe. I will surely visit Galaxy Plastic Surgery (which is at Busan) because one of the Doctor who was at the Beijing medical tourism expo gave me a very different opinion from other surgeons whom I'd met which I appreciate and like. It was one of the most insightful experience I'd but I find it a little sad they don't recommend me to do anything to my nose. I will visit and get a secondary opinion this time with a CT scan + consultation at their clinic. I have selected 5 clinics on hand to visit and it will depends on them whether they are available to meet me. The other four are:NAMU: I read another thread about his (or her) experience in selecting clinic and settled with NAMU. His thread left me with a lasting impression and my email query was replied by the Doctor himself. The reply was short, in very simple english but perfectly understood. MVP: Their website have plenty of examples of specialised cases for cleft patients (which seems right for me)Pitangui: Their email reply was straight forward and rejected several of my thoughts about what I need. They make me feel like they will not push me to do what they feel is not necessary; the other reason is that they seem to be a big hospital and I can get dental works done as well. (Dental plays a part to a cleft patient as it can also be part of function and in my case.. really just to look more normal)TL: They gave me the most information, detailed info about what I can do for my rhinoplasty.
theshortone Posted December 22, 2016 Posted December 22, 2016 Please keep us updated! I also have a cleft and been looking for places in Korea too!
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