My Cleft Lip and Palate Story! - Tampa, FL

hi everyone! i was born with a unilateral complete cleft lip nose and palate on the left side. i have had over twenty surgeries to date, including bone grafts, jaw distractions, lip revisions and rhinoplasties- the whole five yards! although i have all of the surgeries necessary to make life livable, i am still not quite done yet! i still want to fix many things about my appearance, but most notably, my nose and lip. i would love to have another nose job that fixes my asymmetricalities and makes the tip of my nose smaller and shorter. i feel like my nostrils are too long, and that the tip of my nose is too wide and 'fleshy'. i would love to have a small, angular nose, but for now i will just settle on fixing the things that have to do with my birth defect. i am going to pay a visit to my plastic surgeon soon, and i hope he has good news for me when i go!

i just found some old pre-op pictures right before i had my le fort I jaw distraction, and i decided it would be a cool idea to take a before and after pic with it! the surgery was in may of 2012 i believe. it was arguably the most difficult operation i've been through, but between the way to balanced out my profile, and made it easier to eat, talk and breathe, i'd say it was well worth it! :+)

everyone in his office complimented me, and said i was very pretty. my doctor asked me what things i was concerned with, and i said 1.) the droopiness of my nasal tip 2.) my left nostril being asymmetrical 3.) the left side of my upper lip lacking any volume. he agreed with me on all these point and my surgery is scheduled for july 3rd!! i am so excited. he said he would do minor revisions on my nose for the problems i stated, and that he would be performing a dermal fat graft for my lip!