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*Treatment results may vary
---- I received more pain doing my blood tests...
---- I received more pain doing my blood tests instead of this surgery!! :-).
Consultation Appointment:
Dr. Mao will answer in precise every single question you have.
I consider his responses 100% professional since they were simple and in full detail.
Be ready to ask as much questions as possible.
Dr. Mao will not start talking to convince you about taking the procedure or not,
he was there to answer all my considerations (i.e. recovery phase, diet, traveling,
post procedure passport verification, medication, workout, expected pain, going back to work,
smoking, alcohol, etc.).
Pre-procedure appointment:
This took place 10 days before the procedure.
The purpose of it was for Dr. Mao to take pictures of every angle of the ears,
again answer any possible questions I may had forgotten to ask, and fill all the
necessary paperwork.
In addition to that, I was asked to do a blood test so the nurse will confirm
that all the results fall within normal limits.
The blood test does not take place at his office but at a Quest Diagnostics branch
which is approximate 4-6 mins away.
Antibiotics were prescribed to me for 5 days (1 pill per day) starting them
2 days before the procedure.
Specific painkillers were prescribed as well for post surgery.
Procedure Day:
The procedure happened in the office - not in a hospital. I arrived at the office early in the morning.
30 minutes before the procedure I took my antibiotic pill, and a painkiller for the first time.
I was really hyper thus Dr. Mao had a small conversation with me and asked me to relax.
Dr. Mao promised me that the worst part of the procedure will be the initial phase where he will have to
inject the local anesthetic. And let’s be honest, my thoughts that moment were
“who will believe in that??? How bad the anesthetic can be? He is probably saying this just to calm me down”.
And indeed, he was 100% right and I was wrong!! I felt 2-3 tiny bites and that was it!!!
I can tell you that I received more pain doing my blood tests instead of this surgery:-).
His assistance put some music on based on my preferences and I just laid there smiling like a happy puppy.
The procedure took approximate 1 hour for each ear. In particular, it was 45 minutes for the basics and then
another 15-20 mins for detail. Dr. Mao and his assistance are both artists and perfectionists so I was just
patient and let them do their magic.
Noises: With dentists you can feel everything, thus I had in mind that now since the procedure will be
on my ears that I will be hearing everything. That scared me a lot. However it never happened. I do not
recall hearing anything (procedure tools etc.) besides good music and every now and then Dr. Mao saying
the word “Perfect”!
In the end my head was wrapped with gaze and I was feeling amazing. I do not know if it was because
of the anesthetic or not but my last words to them were “Thank you so much, let’s do it again it was fun” :-)
Procedure Day - Getting Home:
I was experiencing throbbing pain on both ears.
The pain was stable and mild and I could easily tolerate it.
The pain was at the same locations on both ears - lower half including the lobe.
I took only 2 painkillers (1 every 4 hours) and that was it.
By midnight the pain reduced bellow mild so I skipped every other painkiller.
I am not a fan of pills. I was able to sleep on a 45 degree angle for 10hours straight
and I woke up the next day feeling fresh.
Follow up appointment:
This took place the day after procedure (next 24hrs). Dr. Mao removed the gaze and checked me for possible hematoma and/or infections.
Result: Gained back all my confidence, 100% satisfaction!!!
Please do understand that everything I am writing above reflect my personal experience
with Dr. Mao and personal quote/results/recovery pain may be different.
However, I want to emphasize that until now I experienced everything precisely as Dr. Mao described.
Note: Will upload photos soon.
Consultation Appointment:
Dr. Mao will answer in precise every single question you have.
I consider his responses 100% professional since they were simple and in full detail.
Be ready to ask as much questions as possible.
Dr. Mao will not start talking to convince you about taking the procedure or not,
he was there to answer all my considerations (i.e. recovery phase, diet, traveling,
post procedure passport verification, medication, workout, expected pain, going back to work,
smoking, alcohol, etc.).
Pre-procedure appointment:
This took place 10 days before the procedure.
The purpose of it was for Dr. Mao to take pictures of every angle of the ears,
again answer any possible questions I may had forgotten to ask, and fill all the
necessary paperwork.
In addition to that, I was asked to do a blood test so the nurse will confirm
that all the results fall within normal limits.
The blood test does not take place at his office but at a Quest Diagnostics branch
which is approximate 4-6 mins away.
Antibiotics were prescribed to me for 5 days (1 pill per day) starting them
2 days before the procedure.
Specific painkillers were prescribed as well for post surgery.
Procedure Day:
The procedure happened in the office - not in a hospital. I arrived at the office early in the morning.
30 minutes before the procedure I took my antibiotic pill, and a painkiller for the first time.
I was really hyper thus Dr. Mao had a small conversation with me and asked me to relax.
Dr. Mao promised me that the worst part of the procedure will be the initial phase where he will have to
inject the local anesthetic. And let’s be honest, my thoughts that moment were
“who will believe in that??? How bad the anesthetic can be? He is probably saying this just to calm me down”.
And indeed, he was 100% right and I was wrong!! I felt 2-3 tiny bites and that was it!!!
I can tell you that I received more pain doing my blood tests instead of this surgery:-).
His assistance put some music on based on my preferences and I just laid there smiling like a happy puppy.
The procedure took approximate 1 hour for each ear. In particular, it was 45 minutes for the basics and then
another 15-20 mins for detail. Dr. Mao and his assistance are both artists and perfectionists so I was just
patient and let them do their magic.
Noises: With dentists you can feel everything, thus I had in mind that now since the procedure will be
on my ears that I will be hearing everything. That scared me a lot. However it never happened. I do not
recall hearing anything (procedure tools etc.) besides good music and every now and then Dr. Mao saying
the word “Perfect”!
In the end my head was wrapped with gaze and I was feeling amazing. I do not know if it was because
of the anesthetic or not but my last words to them were “Thank you so much, let’s do it again it was fun” :-)
Procedure Day - Getting Home:
I was experiencing throbbing pain on both ears.
The pain was stable and mild and I could easily tolerate it.
The pain was at the same locations on both ears - lower half including the lobe.
I took only 2 painkillers (1 every 4 hours) and that was it.
By midnight the pain reduced bellow mild so I skipped every other painkiller.
I am not a fan of pills. I was able to sleep on a 45 degree angle for 10hours straight
and I woke up the next day feeling fresh.
Follow up appointment:
This took place the day after procedure (next 24hrs). Dr. Mao removed the gaze and checked me for possible hematoma and/or infections.
Result: Gained back all my confidence, 100% satisfaction!!!
Please do understand that everything I am writing above reflect my personal experience
with Dr. Mao and personal quote/results/recovery pain may be different.
However, I want to emphasize that until now I experienced everything precisely as Dr. Mao described.
Note: Will upload photos soon.
Provider Review
Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon
200 S. Orange Center Rd., Orange, Connecticut
As the title of this review states, I feel blessed to have Dr. Mao as my personal plastic surgeon. In few words, Dr. Mao is an outstanding, perfectionist artist! The confidence, technical skill and the surgical judgment coming from both Dr. Mao and his personal assistance is what makes them so unique. Regarding my ear surgery, long story short, I can tell you that I received more pain doing my blood tests instead of the actual procedure! :-)