POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty REVIEWS
Deeply regret ever going to this surgeon
ORIGINAL POST
I was a desperate patient and went to Dr. Kwan...
BettyandJoanJuly 10, 2017
$6,000
I was a desperate patient and went to Dr. Kwan with my husband, not knowing what I was in for.
I suspect most of his patients do not speak English as a first language (or, ahem, some of these reviews are from fishy sources).
Here is the timeline:
=Free consult. I was alone, without my husband. Dr. Kwan was very aggressive, and so rude, boasting about his prowess, cutting me off every time I started to ask questions, but while smiling. It's supposed to put you at ease when those red flags start rising. At one point he said something medically inaccurate when I asked him a health/breathing question about my sinuses. I should have walked out then. But again I was desperate. I ignored the alarm bells. A lot of surgeons are are rude but confident (no - arrogant). I tried to push those misgivings away.
Rebecca, his assistant, grunted and behaved the save way, writing about the cost of RHINOPLASTY on a sheet of blank printer paper, with a pen. No official fee list. THAT'S INTENTIONAL. I was stupid and assumed Dr. Kwan would do the WHOLE NOSE. He doesn't. I'll get to that in a minute. There is a reason this office doesn't want you to know what's going on or keep track of what you're paying for, item by item.
=Next paid consult. Not only did he talk over me, he would often turn to my husband and talk to him to chat without me, the patient paying him money!
I talked about refining my bridge and tip, and he was like a sulking kid, mumbling, pointing out other things he did not like in my appearance, not really specifying what would be involved - for a reason.
=I had to give a huge down payment even to book a date. You don't GET that back once you commit. So even if you wise up and try to pull out of the surgery, they get thousands of dollars. That's how they afford their offices and rents in high priced places.
=The morning of surgery was horrible. They were handing me forms they should have given me weeks in advance (and even then, there's no guarantee what you get before surgery will be what they give you after - offices can doctor documents), but not a SINGLE ONE telling me what Rebecca should have:
DOCTOR KWAN DOES NOT OPERATE ON THE WHOLE NOSE FOR THE FEE YOU PAY
I went under the knife, paid thousands of dollars, and endured the pain of a procedure I never, ever would have agreed to if I had known Doctor Kwan was going to which part of the nose he decided.
I took time off work, and I paid someone to disfigure me, not to mention I would have to wait at least a year for a revision, but I had already given ALL OF MY SAVINGS to Kwan.
He did "bridge construction" or whatever on the form. I NEVER, EVER SAW THIS FORM BEFORE SURGERY DAY OR BEFORE I PAID A DOWN PAYMENT. If I had, I would have given my money to someone who would do everything I requested and treat me like a patient, not a dog that wandered in off the street.
Not only did he worsen the breathing issues I walked into his office with, he didn't touch my tip. I never, EVER saw a form saying he would only be doing nasal bridge construction BEFORE SURGERY. NEVER. AND I NEVER WOULD HAVE AGREED TO IT.
I could have saved my money and gone to a surgeon who would have done everything I wanted for 10,000 or less.
There was no aftercare or bedside manner whatsoever. He was incredibly violent removing the stitches after surgery, and I went to him for consults afterward to ask if he would be willing to do anything else I had asked; not only would he attend to other patients during that time, walking in and out, cutting me off, barking at me, but for the last one, he just walked out midsentence. I talked about my sinus problems and he said "I'm just a cosmetic surgeon, stop bothering me, I'm not responsible for that." HE SURE DIDN'T TALK THAT WAY IN THE FIRST CONSULT.
So just to clarify - when you pay this office the fee for rhinoplasty, you can go on all you want about how you want your nose to look. He will do ONE THING you ask for, bridge, tip or nostrils, and you will not get a form describing it until you're literally being handed drugs to knock you out. You are misled into a half surgery. A poor, health-threatening half surgery, with someone you don't want wielding knives at your face or taking care of you - he has no compassion or professionalism as a doctor. Zilch.
Finally, the crowning achievement of my relationship with Dr. Kwan, my nose is much uglier and less functional than when I walked in.
If I had just read reviews of him on other sites and believed those poor people, I could have avoided this.
I REPEAT - YOU ARE NOT PAYING FOR A FULL RHINOPLASTY. If the man does a single item of what you request, he calls it "rhinoplasty", and he will do a bad job.
Stay away from this office. The reviews I read for every single procedure he bills himself for had horrible reviews with unhappy patients - one of them described him digging his finger into the scar of a mole he removed, and it reminded me of how it used to jab my face and manhandle my nose to talk about how ugly it was, and how he'd make it pretty. Who wants someone that treats their patients that way wielding a knife at them?
I don't know if Rebecca is still there but you can bet I have some ideas about who is actually writing reviews on this site.
Stay away from this office and stay away from Dr. Edmund Kwan in his offices in New York, Queens, and Fort Lee. Stay away from him. Don't be misled by the cheap price tag. It's a trap.
Life-changing, bankrupting, horrible experience.
I suspect most of his patients do not speak English as a first language (or, ahem, some of these reviews are from fishy sources).
Here is the timeline:
=Free consult. I was alone, without my husband. Dr. Kwan was very aggressive, and so rude, boasting about his prowess, cutting me off every time I started to ask questions, but while smiling. It's supposed to put you at ease when those red flags start rising. At one point he said something medically inaccurate when I asked him a health/breathing question about my sinuses. I should have walked out then. But again I was desperate. I ignored the alarm bells. A lot of surgeons are are rude but confident (no - arrogant). I tried to push those misgivings away.
Rebecca, his assistant, grunted and behaved the save way, writing about the cost of RHINOPLASTY on a sheet of blank printer paper, with a pen. No official fee list. THAT'S INTENTIONAL. I was stupid and assumed Dr. Kwan would do the WHOLE NOSE. He doesn't. I'll get to that in a minute. There is a reason this office doesn't want you to know what's going on or keep track of what you're paying for, item by item.
=Next paid consult. Not only did he talk over me, he would often turn to my husband and talk to him to chat without me, the patient paying him money!
I talked about refining my bridge and tip, and he was like a sulking kid, mumbling, pointing out other things he did not like in my appearance, not really specifying what would be involved - for a reason.
=I had to give a huge down payment even to book a date. You don't GET that back once you commit. So even if you wise up and try to pull out of the surgery, they get thousands of dollars. That's how they afford their offices and rents in high priced places.
=The morning of surgery was horrible. They were handing me forms they should have given me weeks in advance (and even then, there's no guarantee what you get before surgery will be what they give you after - offices can doctor documents), but not a SINGLE ONE telling me what Rebecca should have:
DOCTOR KWAN DOES NOT OPERATE ON THE WHOLE NOSE FOR THE FEE YOU PAY
I went under the knife, paid thousands of dollars, and endured the pain of a procedure I never, ever would have agreed to if I had known Doctor Kwan was going to which part of the nose he decided.
I took time off work, and I paid someone to disfigure me, not to mention I would have to wait at least a year for a revision, but I had already given ALL OF MY SAVINGS to Kwan.
He did "bridge construction" or whatever on the form. I NEVER, EVER SAW THIS FORM BEFORE SURGERY DAY OR BEFORE I PAID A DOWN PAYMENT. If I had, I would have given my money to someone who would do everything I requested and treat me like a patient, not a dog that wandered in off the street.
Not only did he worsen the breathing issues I walked into his office with, he didn't touch my tip. I never, EVER saw a form saying he would only be doing nasal bridge construction BEFORE SURGERY. NEVER. AND I NEVER WOULD HAVE AGREED TO IT.
I could have saved my money and gone to a surgeon who would have done everything I wanted for 10,000 or less.
There was no aftercare or bedside manner whatsoever. He was incredibly violent removing the stitches after surgery, and I went to him for consults afterward to ask if he would be willing to do anything else I had asked; not only would he attend to other patients during that time, walking in and out, cutting me off, barking at me, but for the last one, he just walked out midsentence. I talked about my sinus problems and he said "I'm just a cosmetic surgeon, stop bothering me, I'm not responsible for that." HE SURE DIDN'T TALK THAT WAY IN THE FIRST CONSULT.
So just to clarify - when you pay this office the fee for rhinoplasty, you can go on all you want about how you want your nose to look. He will do ONE THING you ask for, bridge, tip or nostrils, and you will not get a form describing it until you're literally being handed drugs to knock you out. You are misled into a half surgery. A poor, health-threatening half surgery, with someone you don't want wielding knives at your face or taking care of you - he has no compassion or professionalism as a doctor. Zilch.
Finally, the crowning achievement of my relationship with Dr. Kwan, my nose is much uglier and less functional than when I walked in.
If I had just read reviews of him on other sites and believed those poor people, I could have avoided this.
I REPEAT - YOU ARE NOT PAYING FOR A FULL RHINOPLASTY. If the man does a single item of what you request, he calls it "rhinoplasty", and he will do a bad job.
Stay away from this office. The reviews I read for every single procedure he bills himself for had horrible reviews with unhappy patients - one of them described him digging his finger into the scar of a mole he removed, and it reminded me of how it used to jab my face and manhandle my nose to talk about how ugly it was, and how he'd make it pretty. Who wants someone that treats their patients that way wielding a knife at them?
I don't know if Rebecca is still there but you can bet I have some ideas about who is actually writing reviews on this site.
Stay away from this office and stay away from Dr. Edmund Kwan in his offices in New York, Queens, and Fort Lee. Stay away from him. Don't be misled by the cheap price tag. It's a trap.
Life-changing, bankrupting, horrible experience.
Replies (8)

January 10, 2022
He butchered my face too. I will be setting up support page for his victims. He did my eyelid and removed chunks out of my eye lids. I can’t close my eyes or have blurry vision. We may be able to do a class action suit.
Here is the thing: I wanted a full rhinoplasty. I didn't want silicone, which is what he does.
What makes me angriest is that he wasn't up front with me, for one thing, and he very different in consults but he is not the first surgeon I've spoken with. He wasn't even the first "cheaper" Korean surgeon I considered among Jeffrey Ahn, Eric Choe, etc.
What do you want done to your bridge? Do you want a silastic implant or him to actually break your nose?
Again, I will message you.
This is just my experience. I needed more than he was willing to give me. If you know already you only want something like a silastic implant, no ostetomies, nothing else, than that's different.
He did a revision on me from a surgeon in California who left me with damage in both bridge and tip and never said "Oh, I'm only going to fix ONE thing" or let me negotiate fees. That's why I had breathing issues going in. He never said, "Hey, if you have those issues, I can't give you what you need, I have no background in it." And he actually said a lot of stupid, medically inaccurate things, comparing harvesting the septum for tip grafts to the problem I was describing....he's a bulldozer liar. I should have run away then. I was desperate.
I get the temptation because he's so cheap but looking back I only went to him because I was desperate and broke. I went off of reviews ON THIS SITE about him revising patients. I didn't like that nether he or Rebecca told me what my money was paying for immediately.
If you don't have a complex/revised rhino, it might be worth it you, but I wanted aftercare, I wanted a full surgery, and my experience was more like patients who, say, went in for tip work, and then had a bad experience.
I do understand if you want a nasal implant, because a lot of surgeons don't offer them or they charge very high prices for rhino.
This had serious consequences for me since another doctor had already damaged me.
I'm not the only person he did this to. I was really stupid and wish I'd read this review first. https://www.realself.com/review/nyc-rhinoplasty
He did the same thing to me. I was stupid.
If you go to him I would grill him and ask him if he's going to give you a bridge implant AND an ear cartilage, and ask what it'll be made of. I know what you're thinking because I went for the good reviews that were on this website too. I don't blame those patients. I blame him.
I'd go to Eric Choe, Jeffrey Ahn, or Oleh Slupchinskyj, even though the last one unfortunately is very expensive. There are other surgeon in NYC that use silastic implants.