LAM FACIAL PLASTICS

Dr Lam,

You told me you do goretex on asians with low bridges.. what's the advantage of using goretex instead of silicone? Will the goretex be more stable in ur nose in terms of going back to contact sports i.e. Football, basketball, wresting etc, pillow fights and any activities that could possibly mean u getting hit, pushed, touched or shoved in the nose? i know with a silicone in my nose the thing woudl shift immediately if something came near my nose even 10 years post-op..

SO for someone active like me that would like to raise the bridge by 3mm max with the most natural looking/feeling nose and at the same time be able continue being active without worrying about my nose falling off is goretex the way to go?

Also if ur goretex is to ever get infected within what timeframe post-op would that happen? Or is it inevitable just like silicone?

One thing that worries me is that it's hard to remove, and it's only been around for 7 years so there are possibilities that the long-term side effects are yet to be discovered correct?

I spoke to another dr about alar-plasty (reduction) and he was opposed to it because he said if I did decide to augment my bridge with midpor my tip would automatically be raised and the nostrils would narrow a bit.. is this the same with Goretex and any other implants?



THanks!

In general, I believe that Gore-Tex is a much better product than silicone for all of the reasons that I have enumerated in my previous forum responses: in short, it is more opaque, lighter, and less likely to shift or get infected. It also looks much more natural in my opinion than solid silicone pieces. I only use the sheets, which look much softer than a solid block.

Is there a 100% guarantee that it won't get infected or shift after contact sports? Of course, not. However, I think the incidence is much much lower. Also, contrary to what you wrote, it is VERY easy to remove in the office setting. As far as the "7 year history", you got it pretty wrong. It was first patented in 1976 and has been in use as a surgical implant for over 26 years.

You mentioned Medpor. I don't like Medpor for 2 reasons: it is VERY hard to remove and it is VERY hard substance, especially bad for the tip. If that gets infected, good luck in trying to get that out.

I don't believe that a tip-plasty will pull up the ala. However, I can say that it can make the ala look relaively smaller when the tip is augmented. Look at my harmony blog in my blog section to understand this better or my asian face learning module under resources on my main site.
best,
sml