Dr. Sam Lam Plastic Surgery Forum

Hello Dr. Lam!

I have a question about my nose that I hope you could help me answer. Four years ago, I had my first rhinoplasty done in California. The surgeon was supposedly very good, but he seemed to have rushed through my surgery -- the result was that my nostrils were crooked and after a year or so, a bump appeared on the right right side of my nose! The material used was gortex. I then went to a different surgeon and he redid my nose, this time using silicon. It actually looks a LOT better now, and I know that he did the best he could since the first surgeon messed up. However, even though the left side of my nose looks really good, the right side looks a little pinched in and I think that the alar groove looks too deep (maybe this is due to scarring or because the first surgeon took too much cartilage out the first time?). This fact is most noticeable in pictures...the two sides of my nose look different from each other. I have contacted the surgeon, but he doesn't sound like he wants to redo anything for me. I live in TX and I have no desire to travel to CA for a consultation if he doesn't seem to want to fix it.

Do you think that it would be easy to fix the alar groove on my right side? Or to make the pinched look go away? In general, is this a hard procedure? I just want my right side to look like my left side... I really want you to give me some type of insight before I schedule a consultation with you since I live a few hours away.

Thank you so much!

(p.s. Is there a private email where I could perhaps send you my pics? That way, you might have a better idea of what I'm talking about.)

I just want to add that after reading the other entries on this blog, I am thoroughly impressed with you and your work, Dr. Lam. =) Wow, how did I miss your site when I was looking for a good rhinoplasty surgeon four years ago? And to think...you are also in TX! I never would have had to travel all the way to CA! I especially like your response to the question that someone asked about wanting a tall bridge for an asian nose. You stuck to your values honestly answered that you would not give an asian person a too-high-too-fake nose. That makes me kinda more worried about my nose now, though...

hi,
sorry to hear of your situation. yes, you can send a PM, but honestly fixing the alar groove not to look pinched is near impossible. i am really sorry to hear that. i don't know what i can do but i will give you an honest answer. hopefully, i can do something to help.
best,
sml