LAM FACIAL PLASTICS

I am a 26 light skin black female with exaggerated ethnic features which I would like to change drastically.

Firstly I have really big lips and want to get both the upper and lower lips reduced. My bottom lip hangs and protrudes out and I have that stereotypical "Duck" shape to it. They are also asymmetrical and lean slightly to the left. I am not only bothered by the size of my lips but I'm also irritated by the shape too as they have no definition. Is it possible to reshape them so that the upper lip is more defined with the "dip in the middle", while reducing them at the same time ?

Secondly I would like to get a nose job. I have a typically "black nose" It is wide and flat. I want to narrow the whole nose i.e the bridge as well as the tip and "de-flare" the nostrils and make it more pointy (my apologies for the "layman" terms!).

Just to make the situation even more difficult I live in the UK! I have had cosmetic surgery in the past (liposuction) in the UK and found it difficult to communicate with the surgeon to achieve my optimum results as he was not knowledgeable on the different techniques required due to my ethnicity. After researching you it appears that you are well aware of the differences.

I would like to know if a lip reduction and rhinoplasty could be done together in one sitting and whether I would need to come for a separate consultation first.

I would also like to know roughly how much it would cost for the two procedures.

Can I send you my picture for you to evaluate?

Kind regards

hi,
thanks for your interest.
1. yes, a lip reduction and rhinoplasty can be easily done together.
2. we can do a phone consultation instead of you flying out here. just ask my staff.
3. for prices, email my staff at constanze@lamfacialplastics.com.
4. yes, you can send me a photo as a private message here.
best wishes,
dr. sam lam

hi,
1. as far as the lips, i would agree that you would like better with a lip reduction of both lips or at least the top lip. i can't promise you would look like the woman in the photo but i think would get closer to that look.
2. as far as the nose, i can make your nose look more refined. not exactly like the woman in the photo as she has very strong cartilages showing through but still much better in my opinion.
best,
dr. sam lam

Thanks for the speedy response. Sorry to trouble you with some more questions:

1. looking as some other patients before and after photos who have undergone lip reduction it seems that the difference is sometimes minimal. Is it fair to say that it is impossible to reduce the lips drastically? My lips are really big with no shape to them and I need more than a subtle difference. Obviously I know you can't give me any guarantees but would like some reassurance that I can expect a significant difference.

2. When you say that you can make my nose look more refined what do you mean by that? Is it possible to drastically narrow my bridge and reduce the flares in my nostrils - similar to a Caucasian nose. This is the result I am looking for as I find my nose is too flat and wide.

3. What is the recovery time like with both operations. I have seen from friends who have had nose jobs that they have a black eye for about 2-3 weeks post op and can't really go to work without everyone knowing what they have had done.

4. Since I am out of the country, how many check ups after the operation would I have to attend and what are the timescale of these please.

Kind regards

SS

1. looking as some other patients before and after photos who have undergone lip reduction it seems that the difference is sometimes minimal. Is it fair to say that it is impossible to reduce the lips drastically? My lips are really big with no shape to them and I need more than a subtle difference. Obviously I know you can't give me any guarantees but would like some reassurance that I can expect a significant difference.
of course, everyone is different and requires different degrees of reduction. some only need very little like i did a swedish model i only removed less than 2 mm in the center. at times i have removed several centimeters when needed. yes, you should have a nice result. i do not think it will be too subtle.

2. When you say that you can make my nose look more refined what do you mean by that? Is it possible to drastically narrow my bridge and reduce the flares in my nostrils - similar to a Caucasian nose. This is the result I am looking for as I find my nose is too flat and wide.
no, to narrow an african nose can make it look really bad. first, the nasal bones cannot be reduced significantly and that will make your tip look even bigger. plus, reducing the nostril can look weird in 80% of Africans. i make the bridge slightly higher in the center in most cases to make the nose look narrower and the tip look smaller. i know this is hard to understand but traditional white rhinoplasties make africans look ridiculous. watch this video perhaps i cover it:
http://lamfacialplastics.com/gallery2/v ... y.flv.html

3. What is the recovery time like with both operations. I have seen from friends who have had nose jobs that they have a black eye for about 2-3 weeks post op and can't really go to work without everyone knowing what they have had done.
because i am not moving the bones in i do not expect any bruising of the nose. even when i do i rarely bruise someone. the nose recovery should be quite quick. a week or two perhaps. but to see all the nice refinements requires taping your nose down at night and waiting at least a few months to see the nice changes. however, the lip reduction may look distorted for several weeks. most look good within a few days but i have a few who stay swollen for many weeks. hard to predict. just giving you worse case scenarios.

4. Since I am out of the country, how many check ups after the operation would I have to attend and what are the timescale of these please.
i would love to remove sutures from the nose if possible. i do it more delicately than most surgeons. that would be at a week. we have pretty inexpensive hotels nearby. however, you could have someone remove them back home. if you just do lips you can fly back after a day or so because there really are no sutures to remove.
hope that helps.
best,
dr. sam lam