POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty REVIEWS
Beware of Shady Practices and Subpar Results. San Francisco, CA
ORIGINAL POST
First of all, let me warn you that if you post any...
amsflovesuNovember 9, 2015
First of all, let me warn you that if you post any negative reviews on Yelp, Dr. Kim will promptly block you and delete your review. This is by far the shadiest business practice I've encountered, EVER.
Now I'm writing on Realself, hoping to god this guy doesn't pay someone off to delete my review, ONCE AGAIN.
Now, let me tell you about my terrible experience with Dr. Kim:
I wanted to get my nostrils reduced (alar base reduction) and I booked my appointment with Dr. Kim. On surgery day, I was told to stop by his office. I was extremely surprised that the surgery would take place in his office (not an operating room) which looked more like a dentist's office, without any help from any nurses or assistants.
He then proceeded to inject me with some local anesthesia on my nose, which did hurt/sting quite a bit. Once my nose was numb, he proceeded to start the procedure. Mind you, I was awake the entire time, making me extremely anxious. Once the procedure was done, he handed me a mirror and I was horrified; my nose was extremely swollen and my left nostril was way bigger than the right. I was appalled at the result but I tried to calm myself down thinking the swelling would subside and it would look normal in a few weeks... it did not. Following the surgery, I was completely depressed and dissatisfied with my nose. I was also left with a huge scar on the alar base of my left nostril.
I wish I could say nice things about Dr. Kim, yet the only nice thing I can say is that his bedside manner is great. That's it. The rhinoplasty results I got from him are subpar and I wish everyday I could turn back time so that I had picked another surgeon.
Now I'm writing on Realself, hoping to god this guy doesn't pay someone off to delete my review, ONCE AGAIN.
Now, let me tell you about my terrible experience with Dr. Kim:
I wanted to get my nostrils reduced (alar base reduction) and I booked my appointment with Dr. Kim. On surgery day, I was told to stop by his office. I was extremely surprised that the surgery would take place in his office (not an operating room) which looked more like a dentist's office, without any help from any nurses or assistants.
He then proceeded to inject me with some local anesthesia on my nose, which did hurt/sting quite a bit. Once my nose was numb, he proceeded to start the procedure. Mind you, I was awake the entire time, making me extremely anxious. Once the procedure was done, he handed me a mirror and I was horrified; my nose was extremely swollen and my left nostril was way bigger than the right. I was appalled at the result but I tried to calm myself down thinking the swelling would subside and it would look normal in a few weeks... it did not. Following the surgery, I was completely depressed and dissatisfied with my nose. I was also left with a huge scar on the alar base of my left nostril.
I wish I could say nice things about Dr. Kim, yet the only nice thing I can say is that his bedside manner is great. That's it. The rhinoplasty results I got from him are subpar and I wish everyday I could turn back time so that I had picked another surgeon.
amsflovesu's provider
Replies (33)
November 26, 2015
Who did your revision? I am also interested in an alar base reduction.
December 17, 2015
Just so you know, there's no "cookie cutter" approach to alar base reduction. There are multiple techniques that differ in complexity and outcome.
The alar base procedure Dr. Kim did on me did leave me scarred. He told me there would be minimal scarring, but that wasn't the case. I get the feeling that no matter who does your alar base reduction, there will ALWAYS be a scar because most techniques employ a cutting of the alar sill, and there's no way you'd be able to close that suture and make the nostrils perfectly round.
The doctor who did my revision couldn't really get rid of the scar, but he did inject some filler to make the scar less visible.
The alar base procedure Dr. Kim did on me did leave me scarred. He told me there would be minimal scarring, but that wasn't the case. I get the feeling that no matter who does your alar base reduction, there will ALWAYS be a scar because most techniques employ a cutting of the alar sill, and there's no way you'd be able to close that suture and make the nostrils perfectly round.
The doctor who did my revision couldn't really get rid of the scar, but he did inject some filler to make the scar less visible.
December 18, 2015
I recommend Cicatricure to everyone for scars. It's best if you use it while the scar is healing. $14 Amazon. I used it daily right after surgery for a month on a nasty 4 inch scar and I can not find the scar. Dr Kim does excellent base reductions. I love his photo gallery for that reason.
December 2, 2015
Why did you didnt upload photos of before and after? Im sure everyone want to see how bad he did your nose surgery.
December 17, 2015
I mentioned in another comment that I became too depressed after the surgery and couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. Which is why I never really took any pictures because it would make me even more depressed. I apologize for not having any other means of showing the mishap.
December 2, 2015
Oh no :( I'm so sorry. I was really looking in to him for a revision. Who ended up revising your nose?
December 3, 2015
Along with a couple of previous posters, I am also considering Dr Kim, based largely on the result he achieved for Elisa90, who has shown her photos elsewhere on this site.
Although I am not considering an alar base reduction, this review really does worry me. I guess that there are different techniques used to reduce nostril size. Did Dr Kim give any details on the alar base reduction technique that he tried, and seemingly failed, to achieve a good out come with?
It seems very unusual that this type of procedure could ever be performed under a local anaesthetic. What explaination did he give for being able to attempt this procedure under a local anesthetic?
I know people can be very wary of showing photos, but do you think it might be possible to see a, perhaps heavily cropped, photo of the scar you ended up with on your left nostril? I think it would help people like me who are interested in Dr Kim.
Although I am not considering an alar base reduction, this review really does worry me. I guess that there are different techniques used to reduce nostril size. Did Dr Kim give any details on the alar base reduction technique that he tried, and seemingly failed, to achieve a good out come with?
It seems very unusual that this type of procedure could ever be performed under a local anaesthetic. What explaination did he give for being able to attempt this procedure under a local anesthetic?
I know people can be very wary of showing photos, but do you think it might be possible to see a, perhaps heavily cropped, photo of the scar you ended up with on your left nostril? I think it would help people like me who are interested in Dr Kim.
December 17, 2015
He told me that the procedure was very simple and that he was going to be conservative so as to not remove too much alar tissue (in the case I'd want more to be removed in the future).
He did say that there would be scarring but that it would be minimal. This was NOT the case. He left a huge scar down the alar base of my left nostril. The right nostril has a slightly visible scar, but not as bad as the left one.
For local anesthesia, Dr. Kim said that the procedure was simple enough that sedation would be overkill. What's funny is that when I got my nose revised with another surgeon, he methodically followed proper surgery etiquette and didn't leave anything to chance.
I don't have any photos of my nose when I had surgery with Dr. Kim because I became extremely depressed and couldn't even look at myself in the mirror.
He did say that there would be scarring but that it would be minimal. This was NOT the case. He left a huge scar down the alar base of my left nostril. The right nostril has a slightly visible scar, but not as bad as the left one.
For local anesthesia, Dr. Kim said that the procedure was simple enough that sedation would be overkill. What's funny is that when I got my nose revised with another surgeon, he methodically followed proper surgery etiquette and didn't leave anything to chance.
I don't have any photos of my nose when I had surgery with Dr. Kim because I became extremely depressed and couldn't even look at myself in the mirror.
July 3, 2017
Actually this is done under local anesthesia and in the office by many surgeons. You only need general anesthesia for a full rhino. Nothing about what he did is unusual, it's actually commonplace.
Take care.
I'm happy to say that I did in fact get my nose revised and it is now looking better than before.
He did NOT ask me where i'd be operated. He just told me to swing by his office since he thought the procesure was going to be easy and didn't require sedation.
Big mistake. Not only did i feel anxious the entire time, the results from him doing the procedure alone without any assistance is unacceptable.
There are certain protocols surgeons must follow when operating people and he thought he was the special kind that doesn't need help for a "simple procedure"...
Alar plasty is a surgery of milimeters and it's NOT a simple procedure.
I learned the hard way by putting my trust in Dr. Kim's hands and I've regretted it ever since.
Make sure you research and try to open your options nationwide if possible. You don't want to gamble with your face as it is one of your most valuable assets.
I hope this helps you as I want to help as many people as I can in order to prevent the same things that happened to me.