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Hi Real Selfers, So I am not a fan of writing on...
Hi Real Selfers,
So I am not a fan of writing on these things as I’m rather private, but feel this site has really helped me, not only in finding out about surgeons but being able to connect to people who have had similar experiences and are going through the same things as me, as no matter how great your family and friends are, unless someone has went through the psychological effects of bad surgery, they will never understand how it feels to look in the mirror and not recognize yourself and often hating the person looking back at them and what you have done to yourself. So here is my 10 year account of surgery, it is a long a some what painful journey so for all our sakes I am going to bullet point it, otherwise we may be here all week.
Here a bit of background, i had disliked nose since I was a teen, my family nose is a bit on the wide side, though mine was actually a lot smaller and pretty. I got punched in the nose aged 16, already self-conscious about it, my nose now had a slight lump at the tip and a slight deviation. That was it, I was transfixed and wanted a slimmer nose.
2005 – Aged 23
Rhinoplasty number 1 – Surgeon Neil Mclean – Nuffield Newcastle –
• Surgeon manner – Stuffy, uncaring, blah! ** Note, I had researched surgeons (what you could 10 years ago before these forums) I also wanted it done in Newcastle so I could be with family for recovery. Neil Mclean had every letter after his name of all his training. It was also at the Nuffield, a brand name back them you thought went along with high standards, clearly not anymore.
• Surgery & Recovery – Closed approach. The whole experience was awful, I was uncomfortable, cast heavy and itchy, no care given.
• Cast removal – HATED it immediately, it was like someone had cut off the tip of my nose, it was now short and fat and ugly.
• After - Neil Mclean didn’t care, he was rude and not bothered. I complained, his response was ‘write to the ombudsman’ I was so upset, I didn’t. 2 years followed of self-consciousness, and relationship breakdown – not through my partner but from me not able to like myself.
2007
Rhinoplasty 2 – Surgeon Martin Kelly – LPSA
• Surgeon manner - Lovely, charming and handsome man.
• Surgery & Recovery – Open approach, surgery entailed grafts from nose cartilage to lengthen it. Recovery was pleasant as much as these things can be.
• Cast removal – Loved it! Wanted to jump for joy, I was happy to socialize and felt good.
• After – Great for about a year and a half and started to see things move. Graft had bent and moved and one nostril looked nearly closed. Where graft/septum had bent, there was an indent down one side of the nose. Unfortunately, Martin Kelly passed away around 6 months after my surgery.
2010
Rhinoplasty 3 – Surgeon Simon Withey – LPSA
• Surgeon – Nice, friendly, not that confident in what he could do, or if he could help. Said he would try, could make a bit better.
• Surgery & Recovery – Close approach, the plan was to try and move graft back into place and open up nostril. Recovery was Ok.
• Cast removal – Fine, nothing drastic, pretty much the same as before, nostril not as closed but could still see graft on one side.
• After – Nostril looked better but as swelling went down, the indent off the un-straight septum on one side became more apparent. I went to see what could be done and got told the following – “ I would end up like Michael Jackson’, ‘ It was like warped wood, it couldn’t be put back straight’, ‘Any further surgery would be a risk’. Basically it was a no, nothing could help, bar getting fillers in the dent to level out the asymmetry. He also said I needed psychological help for body dismorphia.
So I got fillers, from several practitioners over the following 3 years. These were Sach Mohan, Tamara Griffith and Kambiz Goldchin. Basically, fillers do give a temporary reprise, but they can quickly go, it’s also another injection into an already fragile area, they can be over filled and loose any definition on the nose, it’s a little traumatic seeing you and your nose in a different shape AGAIN. But above all, it is a temporary measure, do you want to live your life having to get injections every 6-12 months, each time your nose looking slightly different then before.
I also got psychological help, I saw a therapist every week for two years, yes it brought up issues I had with my parents and help me resolved several things, however no matter how good my relationships were getting or how much I was developing as a person, I still disliked my nose. I tried everything, hypnotherapy, CBT, EFT but still nothing. Though I would say EFT helped the most and would recommend it over the other types of therapy, you get quicker and faster results.
So….I started to see if I could find a lifetime solution to my nose issues and started consults with surgeons. I didn’t go back to Mr Withey as he made it clear I was a risk. So please see summary of consults.
Lydia Badia –
• Lovely lady, told me she could help, said fillers were bad news and to never have them again as they can stop the blood flow to your skin.
• I had 2 consults, we planned a surgery date, but she wanted me to see her partner Charles East first as he would be helping with surgery. Having read he was meant to be ‘the king of noses’ I thought that would be great two people working on me. I never got my picture took or any 3D imagining done with Lydia.
Charles East
• Didn’t really dig him, he seemed not really that bothered.
• Again no 3D imagining as he said ‘there was no point with revision as you never know how they will end up’.
• He said he could fix my nose, it would entail Rib graft and some skin graft from my skull.
• I then was told to make a 3rd consult with Lydia, it was in the consult, Lydia told me her and Charles would not operate. That my nose was ‘OK and because of all the stuff I had done to it, the potential for the skin to die and blood to stop flowing was high’
I carried on…..
Basim Matti –
• He was friendly enough, confident in his skills. Consult was rushed and very much like ‘I can fix all of your problems with ear cartilage’. He said he had done ‘loads of revisions from Kelly & Withey’s previous patients’
• I didn’t think he would fix my problems with ear, I also didn’t feel he would give you the patient time and care if needed, with further consults and any concerns.
I nearly lost hope and then signed up to Real Self. I found people who had similar experiences and saw the name Lucian Ion coming up and thought, let’s give this one last chance.
2015 –
Rhinoplasty 4 – Surgeon Lucian Ion – Aesthetic plastic surgery
This is where the bullet points will stop for a bit, because this man deserves articulate grammar. I had to wait about 3 months for a consult with Lucian and didn’t know what to expect. As I had lost hope of any real help, I never even asked in my consults how I would really like my nose to be – no pictures of models and actresses at hand. I only discussed what I wanted fixed (the uneven nostrils, the struggle to breath through one nostril, the visible deviated septum, the dent in one side) having being told many times after many surgeries ‘who knows the results’.
So you can imagine my shock when I sit down with a man who is warm and relaxed and who genuinely wants to help, he asked a lot of questions, made me feel at ease and asked how I wanted my nose to be. Again, I was shocked when he started doing the 3D imagery, I nearly stopped him and was like ‘what I get to say how I want it to look’. Lucian spent over an hour with me, he made me feel like I wasn’t crazy and going round the same old rabbit hole. He said he could help and would need rib graft. Yes there were some concerns over what could be achieved with having previous work, but felt overall there could be a marked improvement achieved.
I had 4 consults in all over the following 6 months, each time to go through my worries and concerns and each time I walked away fell confident as I ever could in a surgeon.
So…here I am 6 weeks post op. My surgery and recovery went well, it was a long surgery, about 4 hours, Lucian came to check on me several times while in recovery, he said it was a pretty much a full re-build but it went well. The rib is tricky as you are in a lot of pain and getting up and general movements are very painful. My cast removal experience was not great, as you can imagine after so many previous surgeries and rib graft the swelling was unreal. However after being so worried about skin and circulation, seeing my nose alive and well was my biggest relief. In the following days after my cast removal, my nose was so fat and wide it looked like it was about to burst. but after about 4 days I was OK to leave the house, I even had some work meetings.
Lucian and his team were amazing, the nurse and reception team are lovely and Lucian is very caring, you can tell he is a real perfectionist who really cares about his work and results.
I am still swollen and not saying this is my dream nose YET, but it is pretty and symmetrical and better than before. I feel confident smiling and talking and not worrying about a graft/septum sticking out of one side. I feel my final results may take a little while longer to show but I am confident it will be great and I am comforted to know Lucian will be there if I have any concerns.
This has been a long, stressful, painful and expensive life lesson for me. I do feel there are some positives during this journey. It has made me more aware, made me realise to not judge people on how they look, it is not the 'be all and end all' and it can be taken away from you.
My advice to anyone who is researching getting a ‘nose job’ please really think about it and if you CAN live without it, DO. If it’s a small tweak you need, it is not worth the scaring. This is the center of your face you are playing with and if it goes wrong you cannot cover it up. The nose is a tricky thing to get right and to know how it will heal. I wish I could turn back time, but maybe this was a lesson I needed to learn. I try to think of the positives from this experience and I hope and pray this is the end of this chapter for me.
I am writing this review for 2 reasons.
1. To people researching for their first surgery and hope this makes them think, really ask yourself ‘can I life with my nose as it is’? If the answer is ‘yes’ then step away from this forum and get on with your life. Save yourself the pain and expense, no nose will suit you as much or be as healthy as the one you were born with.
2. For people, who like me have had a bad experience, firstly I really feel for you and hope you get a resolve.
I won’t be checking my real self much now as I want to move on, but if anyone wants further info I am happy to answer any emails. I wont be sharing any pictures as I want to remain as private as I can.
Lots of love.
x
So I am not a fan of writing on these things as I’m rather private, but feel this site has really helped me, not only in finding out about surgeons but being able to connect to people who have had similar experiences and are going through the same things as me, as no matter how great your family and friends are, unless someone has went through the psychological effects of bad surgery, they will never understand how it feels to look in the mirror and not recognize yourself and often hating the person looking back at them and what you have done to yourself. So here is my 10 year account of surgery, it is a long a some what painful journey so for all our sakes I am going to bullet point it, otherwise we may be here all week.
Here a bit of background, i had disliked nose since I was a teen, my family nose is a bit on the wide side, though mine was actually a lot smaller and pretty. I got punched in the nose aged 16, already self-conscious about it, my nose now had a slight lump at the tip and a slight deviation. That was it, I was transfixed and wanted a slimmer nose.
2005 – Aged 23
Rhinoplasty number 1 – Surgeon Neil Mclean – Nuffield Newcastle –
• Surgeon manner – Stuffy, uncaring, blah! ** Note, I had researched surgeons (what you could 10 years ago before these forums) I also wanted it done in Newcastle so I could be with family for recovery. Neil Mclean had every letter after his name of all his training. It was also at the Nuffield, a brand name back them you thought went along with high standards, clearly not anymore.
• Surgery & Recovery – Closed approach. The whole experience was awful, I was uncomfortable, cast heavy and itchy, no care given.
• Cast removal – HATED it immediately, it was like someone had cut off the tip of my nose, it was now short and fat and ugly.
• After - Neil Mclean didn’t care, he was rude and not bothered. I complained, his response was ‘write to the ombudsman’ I was so upset, I didn’t. 2 years followed of self-consciousness, and relationship breakdown – not through my partner but from me not able to like myself.
2007
Rhinoplasty 2 – Surgeon Martin Kelly – LPSA
• Surgeon manner - Lovely, charming and handsome man.
• Surgery & Recovery – Open approach, surgery entailed grafts from nose cartilage to lengthen it. Recovery was pleasant as much as these things can be.
• Cast removal – Loved it! Wanted to jump for joy, I was happy to socialize and felt good.
• After – Great for about a year and a half and started to see things move. Graft had bent and moved and one nostril looked nearly closed. Where graft/septum had bent, there was an indent down one side of the nose. Unfortunately, Martin Kelly passed away around 6 months after my surgery.
2010
Rhinoplasty 3 – Surgeon Simon Withey – LPSA
• Surgeon – Nice, friendly, not that confident in what he could do, or if he could help. Said he would try, could make a bit better.
• Surgery & Recovery – Close approach, the plan was to try and move graft back into place and open up nostril. Recovery was Ok.
• Cast removal – Fine, nothing drastic, pretty much the same as before, nostril not as closed but could still see graft on one side.
• After – Nostril looked better but as swelling went down, the indent off the un-straight septum on one side became more apparent. I went to see what could be done and got told the following – “ I would end up like Michael Jackson’, ‘ It was like warped wood, it couldn’t be put back straight’, ‘Any further surgery would be a risk’. Basically it was a no, nothing could help, bar getting fillers in the dent to level out the asymmetry. He also said I needed psychological help for body dismorphia.
So I got fillers, from several practitioners over the following 3 years. These were Sach Mohan, Tamara Griffith and Kambiz Goldchin. Basically, fillers do give a temporary reprise, but they can quickly go, it’s also another injection into an already fragile area, they can be over filled and loose any definition on the nose, it’s a little traumatic seeing you and your nose in a different shape AGAIN. But above all, it is a temporary measure, do you want to live your life having to get injections every 6-12 months, each time your nose looking slightly different then before.
I also got psychological help, I saw a therapist every week for two years, yes it brought up issues I had with my parents and help me resolved several things, however no matter how good my relationships were getting or how much I was developing as a person, I still disliked my nose. I tried everything, hypnotherapy, CBT, EFT but still nothing. Though I would say EFT helped the most and would recommend it over the other types of therapy, you get quicker and faster results.
So….I started to see if I could find a lifetime solution to my nose issues and started consults with surgeons. I didn’t go back to Mr Withey as he made it clear I was a risk. So please see summary of consults.
Lydia Badia –
• Lovely lady, told me she could help, said fillers were bad news and to never have them again as they can stop the blood flow to your skin.
• I had 2 consults, we planned a surgery date, but she wanted me to see her partner Charles East first as he would be helping with surgery. Having read he was meant to be ‘the king of noses’ I thought that would be great two people working on me. I never got my picture took or any 3D imagining done with Lydia.
Charles East
• Didn’t really dig him, he seemed not really that bothered.
• Again no 3D imagining as he said ‘there was no point with revision as you never know how they will end up’.
• He said he could fix my nose, it would entail Rib graft and some skin graft from my skull.
• I then was told to make a 3rd consult with Lydia, it was in the consult, Lydia told me her and Charles would not operate. That my nose was ‘OK and because of all the stuff I had done to it, the potential for the skin to die and blood to stop flowing was high’
I carried on…..
Basim Matti –
• He was friendly enough, confident in his skills. Consult was rushed and very much like ‘I can fix all of your problems with ear cartilage’. He said he had done ‘loads of revisions from Kelly & Withey’s previous patients’
• I didn’t think he would fix my problems with ear, I also didn’t feel he would give you the patient time and care if needed, with further consults and any concerns.
I nearly lost hope and then signed up to Real Self. I found people who had similar experiences and saw the name Lucian Ion coming up and thought, let’s give this one last chance.
2015 –
Rhinoplasty 4 – Surgeon Lucian Ion – Aesthetic plastic surgery
This is where the bullet points will stop for a bit, because this man deserves articulate grammar. I had to wait about 3 months for a consult with Lucian and didn’t know what to expect. As I had lost hope of any real help, I never even asked in my consults how I would really like my nose to be – no pictures of models and actresses at hand. I only discussed what I wanted fixed (the uneven nostrils, the struggle to breath through one nostril, the visible deviated septum, the dent in one side) having being told many times after many surgeries ‘who knows the results’.
So you can imagine my shock when I sit down with a man who is warm and relaxed and who genuinely wants to help, he asked a lot of questions, made me feel at ease and asked how I wanted my nose to be. Again, I was shocked when he started doing the 3D imagery, I nearly stopped him and was like ‘what I get to say how I want it to look’. Lucian spent over an hour with me, he made me feel like I wasn’t crazy and going round the same old rabbit hole. He said he could help and would need rib graft. Yes there were some concerns over what could be achieved with having previous work, but felt overall there could be a marked improvement achieved.
I had 4 consults in all over the following 6 months, each time to go through my worries and concerns and each time I walked away fell confident as I ever could in a surgeon.
So…here I am 6 weeks post op. My surgery and recovery went well, it was a long surgery, about 4 hours, Lucian came to check on me several times while in recovery, he said it was a pretty much a full re-build but it went well. The rib is tricky as you are in a lot of pain and getting up and general movements are very painful. My cast removal experience was not great, as you can imagine after so many previous surgeries and rib graft the swelling was unreal. However after being so worried about skin and circulation, seeing my nose alive and well was my biggest relief. In the following days after my cast removal, my nose was so fat and wide it looked like it was about to burst. but after about 4 days I was OK to leave the house, I even had some work meetings.
Lucian and his team were amazing, the nurse and reception team are lovely and Lucian is very caring, you can tell he is a real perfectionist who really cares about his work and results.
I am still swollen and not saying this is my dream nose YET, but it is pretty and symmetrical and better than before. I feel confident smiling and talking and not worrying about a graft/septum sticking out of one side. I feel my final results may take a little while longer to show but I am confident it will be great and I am comforted to know Lucian will be there if I have any concerns.
This has been a long, stressful, painful and expensive life lesson for me. I do feel there are some positives during this journey. It has made me more aware, made me realise to not judge people on how they look, it is not the 'be all and end all' and it can be taken away from you.
My advice to anyone who is researching getting a ‘nose job’ please really think about it and if you CAN live without it, DO. If it’s a small tweak you need, it is not worth the scaring. This is the center of your face you are playing with and if it goes wrong you cannot cover it up. The nose is a tricky thing to get right and to know how it will heal. I wish I could turn back time, but maybe this was a lesson I needed to learn. I try to think of the positives from this experience and I hope and pray this is the end of this chapter for me.
I am writing this review for 2 reasons.
1. To people researching for their first surgery and hope this makes them think, really ask yourself ‘can I life with my nose as it is’? If the answer is ‘yes’ then step away from this forum and get on with your life. Save yourself the pain and expense, no nose will suit you as much or be as healthy as the one you were born with.
2. For people, who like me have had a bad experience, firstly I really feel for you and hope you get a resolve.
I won’t be checking my real self much now as I want to move on, but if anyone wants further info I am happy to answer any emails. I wont be sharing any pictures as I want to remain as private as I can.
Lots of love.
x
Provider Review
Specialist Registered Plastic Surgeon
Aveling House, 1B Upper Wimpole St., London,
Lucian Ion