Alar Base Reduction in Toronto

I have gotten quite a few messages to update my review and I'm so sorry for not getting a chance to respond to all of them! Instead of responding to each message individually, I thought I might as well update this review!

I had my first alarplasty in 2015 with Dr. Smith, where I had begged him to please make the alarplasty as natural as possible as I did not want to have unnatural results or breathing issues afterwards. I even sent him several emails before the surgery date to make sure he understood that I really wanted it to look natural. A year after the rhinoplasty, I compared my before and after pictures and noticed that they looked pretty much similar, which was partially my fault for begging him to give me an extremely natural look. I was quite disappointed that I had wasted so much time and money, and would now have to pay to get another surgery again to finally get the results that I wanted. I sent Dr. Smith an email about how I felt about my 1 year post-op results, and to my surprise, he too agreed that it did not look like there was a significant difference. I honestly shed a tear when he offered to do a revision surgery for me because he genuinely wanted me to be happy with my results and he understood that the surgery did not make much of a difference. I could not believe what I read on the screen, it was like a miracle happened. I did not expect the sympathy and generosity from his side at all, as most doctors would have pretty much told me "too bad".

Fast forward to 1.5 years after, I am SOOOOOOOO happy with my results. No one has any idea that I've had anything done to my nose, people just think that I look a little better, but assume that I've been doing my makeup differently haha. I feel so much more confident and comfortable with my face, and I couldn't be more glad that I got an alarplasty. It's funny how something so small can make such a huge difference in your confidence.

I think what I'm most glad about though, is choosing the right surgeon. I would have felt very stressed and disappointed if I had went to a doctor who didn't genuinely care about my satisfaction. Again, I can't stress how happy I am that I did my research and that I chose Dr. Smith. I don't know if he reads his RealSelf reviews.. or if someone reads this and gets the chance to talk to him, please let him know how grateful I am for choosing him to do my nose<3 (hopefully he'll remember who it is hahah!!)

Hope this review helps you with your rhinoplasty research!

RealSelf has helped me so much with finding my rhinoplasty journey, so I thought it was only right to help others with their research by posting my personal experience.
To start off, I always hated my nose ever since I could remember. I hated the fact that not only did I have a lower nose bridge, but the width of the base of my nose was also very wide. As an ethnic individual, I know many people who have undergone rhinoplasties and received less than natural results as not many surgeons are very experienced with ethnic nose types. My number one priority was finding an extremely experienced & knowledgeable surgeon that would help me get beautiful, but natural results.
I have hated my nose for a while, but I was certain I wanted to get a permanent fix in the last 5 years. I have always been a researcher, so I spent month after month researching and reading EVERYTHING I could about rhinoplasties, specifically, Asian rhinoplasties. I knew I preferred to get it done locally in case of an emergency, and because I live in Canada, the exchange rate and accommodation costs of getting it done in the U.S would've costed much more than I would've liked to pay. Korea is an amazing option for getting natural-looking rhinoplasty due to how advanced they are in plastic surgery, but I was extremely scared of going to a foreign country where I was unable to speak the language.
After reading a lot about the procedure, I began my extensive search for the PERFECT surgeon for my surgery in Toronto and GTA (greater Toronto area), and I will have to say that I am extremely glad I was so picky with finding the right surgeon (a foreshadow to why I am so pleased with my results). I read a bunch of reviews on Realself, Ratemds, and even their Google reviews (Yelp is also great at showing honest reviews as well). After reading everyone’s reviews, I limited my options down to Dr. Jamil Asaria & Dr. Oakley Smith. There are plenty of surgeons in Toronto, but after meeting many, I must say many of them do not genuinely care about the patient as much as they care about making more money (that is all I will say on that topic hahah)
Dr. Jamil Asaria:
I had previous experience with Dr. Asaria to get fillers (I did quite a bit of research before going to him for fillers too, I will try to write a separate review for him). I have met many Toronto surgeons from going with family and friends to their surgery consultations, therefore I know for a fact that Dr. Asaria genuinely cares about his patients and was very personable. Dr. Asaria knew a lot about Asian rhinoplasties and did not believe in sticking a one-size-fits-all silicone implant into my nose. His method was to use a rib implant from my own body to build the bridge of my nose and bring in the width of the base. This was the method that I was hoping to hear as I read that the chances of getting an infection or implant intrusion were much lower. His prices were quite high, but it was understandable for the type of procedure he was offering.
Dr. Oakley Smith:
I already had a good impression of Dr. Smith from his good reviews online before my first consultation. I was also able to contact one of his old patients (I saw her review online and followed her rhinoplasty diary on Instagram) where she reassured me that Dr. Smith was wonderful and extremely skilled at what he does. In the consultation, I told him what I disliked about my nose, and he followed with his honest opinion of what procedure would benefit me most. The number one thing that I noticed was that he did not pressure me to get the most expensive rhinoplasty option whatsoever. He actually pointed out all the options I had, and what prices would be reasonable in his opinion. I knew that he was busy, but he took his time and spent 45 minutes to an hour for our first consultation.
In the end, I chose to go with Dr. Smith as he specializes in rhinoplasties (he solely performs rhinoplasties and no other surgery), making it the number one reason to why I trusted his skill entirely - I knew that he was the surgeon for me. He was the perfect combination of being experienced, knowledgeable, personable, and genuine … I really couldn’t ask for anything more. I chose not to go with Dr. Asaria even though I really liked him. The main reason was because I am not much of a risk taker and felt like Dr. Smith was my best option for a rhinoplasty specifically, considering his expertise and specialization in rhinoplasty .
Dr. Smith’s receptionist/admin Beena is extremely pleasant and genuine. Getting an appointment with Dr. Smith is a little difficult as he is quite busy, so I was a little disappointed when I tried to book my first consultation and was given a date 3 months from when I called. I was really happy when she gave me a call soon after and said they had a cancellation, so I quickly agreed and rushed my bum there on the date. I have already written about my consultation, so I’ll fast forward closer to the surgery date. I chose to get a simple alar base reduction (narrowing of my nostrils to make my nose appear less wide and big). I sent Dr. Smith multiple emails just to clarify with him the way I wanted my nose to look afterwards, and he surprisingly replied to all of them to make sure I was confident walking into my surgery (it helped reassure that I made the correct decision and I definitely appreciated it!). My surgery was performed at the Toronto General Hospital. During the procedure, Dr. Smith was great, he played some music in the background and made jokes to calm my nerves. Because I only did an alar base reduction, there was honestly VERY VERY slim to no pain afterwards. I took 1 Tylenol Extra Strength after the surgery, and that was it. The only difficult thing for me was not being able to go out since I had stitches and a huge swollen nose. I got my stitches removed with Dr. Smith a week aftewards at his office, and I was off to live my normal life. The results were very subtle, therefore I was able to hide it from the majority of my friends and even family.
I have a 1 year post-procedure update which I will post after :)