Reconstruction Plastic Surgery!

[tomz]

Greetings,

Perhaps due to some weird forces, I need Reconstruction Plastic Surgery done on Nose, Face Implant, and Ear fix. (Otoplasty) Quite a bit yes. I am 16.
The reason is because my face upclose is noticably unsymmetrical. My ear is smaller on the left and below my right ear. My left portion of face is noticably different from my right portion of face. And my nose has a very very slight but noticable "edge" in the middle.
Is this perhaps due to inadaquete excercise on the left portion of my face? There was one time my teeth hurted like hell on the left portion of mouth... And then it came off by itself. Then I noticed some differences in my face as time went by.

Also, after looking at websites, all 3 would cost about 10k at least... Are there any other good deals for lesser? Also, is plastic surgery popular? and do they really guarantee results? Any out of country procedures for less?

- Thanks

EDIT: Btw, if you are looking at my avatar, you can't notice my face attributes until you get close and look at me from side... my face is... relatively flat, and when i smile my cheeck grows too big.

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[LuckyMD2b]

Dude,

You do not want to get discount plastic surgery done! If you must get that stuff done, you should go all out and pay for a quality surgeon.

Second if your face is drooping on one side then your problem may be neurological and not cosmetic. One side of your face shouldn't be needing more exercise than the other. You should see a primary care physician to make sure that everything is well, and your facial asymmetry is not due to some underlying disease process with your facial nerve or your muscles.

I think that it is very important that you see your doctor and find out what's going on.

Good luck

 

[tomz]

Dude,

You do not want to get discount plastic surgery done! If you must get that stuff done, you should go all out and pay for a quality surgeon.

Second if your face is drooping on one side then your problem may be neurological and not cosmetic. One side of your face shouldn't be needing more exercise than the other. You should see a primary care physician to make sure that everything is well, and your facial asymmetry is not due to some underlying disease process with your facial nerve or your muscles.

I think that it is very important that you see your doctor and find out what's going on.

Good luck

Thank you for your response,

By cheaper I certainly did not intend it to mean uncertified surgeon, rather I meant it to be of lesser cost. I believe there are reliable countries where this practice costs relatively lesser due to the demands variations. (China perhaps would be a wise choice, since $1USD = 8 Yuan, so suppose an otoplasty costs $3000USD, equivalently it would cost 8 times cheaper in China $3000/8 = 375USD, not to mention it might cost lesser in China)

On to the neurological problem; I too have been bothered by this problem for a long time. When I look back into my early youth (4 - 7 yr old) pictures, I notice nothing unsymmetrical... But that is before I had that "teeth" nightmare. I too believe even more is a neurological problem after your short brief. Will my face be back up after fixing it? But then you said "facial asymmetry is not due to some underlying disease process with your facial nerve or your muscles." There is perhaps a contradiction between your statements. Did you meant facial nerve and muscles to be different from what you meant by neurological problems?

-Regards

 

[doc05]

dude, going to china to get plastic surgery done has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. looking at your avatar, your face isn't grossly deformed. please be realistic. nobody is perfectly symmetrical.

 

[droliver]

Tomz,

Just a guess, but you could have hemi-facial microsomia which could explain the multiple signifigant asymetries you're describing. I'd have a Plastic Surgeon with an an interest in craniofacial surgery or an Oral Surgeon who does a lot of orthgnathic work evaluate you. If you do have this anomaly, this would be considered more reconstructive surgery & would likely be covered by health insurance rather then an out of pocket type of aesthetic case

 

[LuckyMD2b]

Did you meant facial nerve and muscles to be different from what you meant by neurological problems?

No, sorry about that. When I said a neurological problem I meant there may be something going on with your muscles of facial expression and the nerves that control them.

My bad

 

[tomz]

Tomz,

Just a guess, but you could have hemi-facial microsomia which could explain the multiple signifigant asymetries you're describing. I'd have a Plastic Surgeon with an an interest in craniofacial surgery or an Oral Surgeon who does a lot of orthgnathic work evaluate you. If you do have this anomaly, this would be considered more reconstructive surgery & would likely be covered by health insurance rather then an out of pocket type of aesthetic case

Can you re-state your statement regarding the surgeon part please? How can my insurance cover it?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Tomz...

As Droliver noted, from your description it sounds as if you have hemi-facial microsomia (ie, half of your face [the left half in this case] is smaller or less developed than the other half).

If this is the case (and needs to be evaluated by a Plastic Surgeon), then it is considered congenital - ie, you were born with it. Surgery to repair this is considered recosntructive not aesthetic (ie, not cosmetic surgery) and is almost always covered by insurance. This is what Droliver is referring to...if you have a true congenital problem (ie, your face didn't develop correctly) rather than a cosmetic concern (ie, my nose is too big, my breasts too small, etc.) this is covered by medical insurance.

Before considering anything else further, please find yourself a local board certified surgeon who can offer a qualified opinion and help you assess whether or not your concerns are amenable to rescontructive surgery. If it is, his/her office staff will be able to assist you in insurance and payment issues. Your concerns may be totally covered by medical insurance (presuming you have coverage through school, work, parents, etc. Frankly, if you are 16, I'd assume you're covered by your parents insurance.)

Please remember that we are not your best source of information on your condition and that medical/surgical advice is best received from a practitioner in the field, not on a website from medical students, residents and fellows.

 

[Winged Scapula]

BTW, moving to the Plastic Surgery subforum.

 

[tomz]

Tomz...

As Droliver noted, from your description it sounds as if you have hemi-facial microsomia (ie, half of your face [the left half in this case] is smaller or less developed than the other half).

If this is the case (and needs to be evaluated by a Plastic Surgeon), then it is considered congenital - ie, you were born with it. Surgery to repair this is considered recosntructive not aesthetic (ie, not cosmetic surgery) and is almost always covered by insurance. This is what Droliver is referring to...if you have a true congenital problem (ie, your face didn't develop correctly) rather than a cosmetic concern (ie, my nose is too big, my breasts too small, etc.) this is covered by medical insurance.

Before considering anything else further, please find yourself a local board certified surgeon who can offer a qualified opinion and help you assess whether or not your concerns are amenable to rescontructive surgery. If it is, his/her office staff will be able to assist you in insurance and payment issues. Your concerns may be totally covered by medical insurance (presuming you have coverage through school, work, parents, etc. Frankly, if you are 16, I'd assume you're covered by your parents insurance.)

Please remember that we are not your best source of information on your condition and that medical/surgical advice is best received from a practitioner in the field, not on a website from medical students, residents and fellows.

Thank you all again for responding, you may not be the best, but at least I consider you guys professional enough.

Full coverage? What insurance covers that? Medicaid, FEX, Medicare? Heh, too bad I'm not a senior.