Author Topic: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?  (Read 6014 times)

dardok

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What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« on: December 01, 2018, 05:16:48 PM »
How is his bedside manner? How likely will he be to help you resolve problems post surgery?
How likely is he to f**k over a foreignor who he operates on and abandon his case?
How skilled is he? (chance of him making errors).

He will likely be my only option for the procedure I need to get and even thought I can consult with him I would like to get a larger picture of the kind of person he is positive or negative.

Is he someone who you can trust to operate on you as a non Spanish citizen.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2018, 05:57:38 PM by dardok »

Lefortitude

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2018, 12:13:28 PM »
I like his results, I liked the consultation I had with him. I like his innovative techniques, I like how he has expanded the practice of jaw surgery and the aesthetic implications. I like his track record, I like his prices. I like alot about him.

I dont like that he is focused on teaching, research, and is, as of now, a fully tenured professor at the University of Catalonia. The point of tenure in academia is to allow experienced researchers to have the freedom to try new things without the risk of losing their job. I want my surgeon to have more liability than that for their actions. That was a big part of me choosing to not see him. That said, he still puts out great results to this day.

dardok

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2018, 12:30:56 PM »
I like his results, I liked the consultation I had with him. I like his innovative techniques, I like how he has expanded the practice of jaw surgery and the aesthetic implications. I like his track record, I like his prices. I like alot about him.

I dont like that he is focused on teaching, research, and is, as of now, a fully tenured professor at the University of Catalonia. The point of tenure in academia is to allow experienced researchers to have the freedom to try new things without the risk of losing their job. I want my surgeon to have more liability than that for their actions. That was a big part of me choosing to not see him. That said, he still puts out great results to this day.

Surely the tenure does not protect him from liability in his professional practice and only during research yes?

I am getting a procedure called the u shaped osteotomy from him, I will be traveling from abroad.

Would you trust him to perform this procedure?

ghiggson90

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2018, 12:45:16 PM »
How is his bedside manner? How likely will he be to help you resolve problems post surgery?
How likely is he to f**k over a foreignor who he operates on and abandon his case?
How skissed is he? (chance of him making errors).

He will likely be my only option for the procedure I need to get and even thought I can consult with him I would like to get a larger picture of the kind of person he is positive or negative.

Is he someone who you can trust to operate on you as a non Spanish citizen.

I know at least one person from this forum that was not pleased with their results. An over impaction case. I believe there are a number of threads with mixed reviews on him in the surgeon reviews section.

IMO, his aesthetic results are mixed. Some quite good ones which you can see on his website or YouTube, some I wouldn't consider great. For example, this one I think was also an over impaction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHXUjDfA6eU

I wouldn't worry about him messing up technically, but be sure you are comfortable with the planned movements from an aesthetic perspective.

kavan

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2018, 03:28:11 PM »
How is his bedside manner? How likely will he be to help you resolve problems post surgery?
How likely is he to f**k over a foreignor who he operates on and abandon his case?
How skissed is he? (chance of him making errors).

He will likely be my only option for the procedure I need to get and even thought I can consult with him I would like to get a larger picture of the kind of person he is positive or negative.

Is he someone who you can trust to operate on you as a non Spanish citizen.

A lot of your posts reveal you are too worried about him, are circumspect about him and harbor some negative sentiment about him. They reflect ambivalence that he's your only option.

It's not a matter of whether you 'should' or 'should not' trust him based on asking others whether you should or shouldn't. I mean it's not as if he's on some 'do not go to' black list as someone to avoid. The matter is CAN you trust your own judgement where you'd be able to make a judgement call SUBSEQUENT to a CONSULT. Only YOU know how good your judgement is when it comes to making decisions. Keep in mind that consults are effectively about using your OWN judgement skills. But here you're effectively asking people to pass judgement FOR you before you consult with him. ("Even though I can consult with him...")

So, can you trust your OWN judgement????  Yes or No. I don't need the answer. It's a question you have to ask YOURSELF.
Please. No PMs for private advice. Board issues only.

dardok

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2018, 05:37:23 PM »
A lot of your posts reveal you are too worried about him, are circumspect about him and harbor some negative sentiment about him. They reflect ambivalence that he's your only option.

It's not a matter of whether you 'should' or 'should not' trust him based on asking others whether you should or shouldn't. I mean it's not as if he's on some 'do not go to' black list as someone to avoid. The matter is CAN you trust your own judgement where you'd be able to make a judgement call SUBSEQUENT to a CONSULT. Only YOU know how good your judgement is when it comes to making decisions. Keep in mind that consults are effectively about using your OWN judgement skisss. But here you're effectively asking people to pass judgement FOR you before you consult with him. ("Even though I can consult with him...")

So, can you trust your OWN judgement????  Yes or No. I don't need the answer. It's a question you have to ask YOURSELF.

Well I have a consult scheduled for tomorrow. My judgement of the situation is that my procedure is not an invasive or large one but there is always presenting a risk of averse events.

It is possible it will go well and the chance is likely fairly high given the nature of this procedure but in the event it goes wrong what will it be like to go with him and how does he treat foreignors.

I don't have any negative sentiment towards him, maybe my posts give off the impression but I actually have high hopes and want to like him.

What I am trying to do is generate any negative information since from lurking everything has been positive.

dardok

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2018, 05:39:37 PM »
I know at least one person from this forum that was not pleased with their results. An over impaction case. I believe there are a number of threads with mixed reviews on him in the surgeon reviews section.

IMO, his aesthetic results are mixed. Some quite good ones which you can see on his website or YouTube, some I wouldn't consider great. For example, this one I think was also an over impaction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHXUjDfA6eU

I wouldn't worry about him messing up technically, but be sure you are comfortable with the planned movements from an aesthetic perspective.

Have there been any stories of what happens when something goes wrong during his procedures? How does he resolve this sort of situation. Will he be likely to take responsibility and resolve this or will he dismiss it.

I understand he sees a very large quantity of patients, how closely does he follow each case? Will it be with enough prudence to maximize the result or just enough to get by onto the next patient.


Lefortitude

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2018, 06:04:00 PM »
Have there been any stories of what happens when something goes wrong during his procedures? How does he resolve this sort of situation. Will he be likely to take responsibility and resolve this or will he dismiss it.

I understand he sees a very large quantity of patients, how closely does he follow each case? Will it be with enough prudence to maximize the result or just enough to get by onto the next patient.

there was a fellow on here that got an amazing aesthetic improvement and had is OSA cured by him. The patient wasnt happy with his new face even though it was an objective improvement (and a significant one). The patient told me alfaro was very compassionate and listened to his concerns as if they mattered, even though (imo) he had some deeper psychological issue with the change of face (see locus of identity) that were unrelated to the objected results from the surgery.

Dogmatix

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2018, 01:49:51 PM »
Well I have a consult scheduled for tomorrow. My judgement of the situation is that my procedure is not an invasive or large one but there is always presenting a risk of averse events.


So, how was the consultation and what are your thoughts?

dardok

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2018, 09:28:37 PM »
So, how was the consultation and what are your thoughts?

He seemed responsible, knowledgeable, and transparent.
I did not get the impression I was talking to a snake oil salesman but a surgeon with alot of experience and intuition.
I get a good feeling about him so I think I will go through with taking a trip to do the procedure.


I had many questions prepared however in the moment I did omit a few things that I would of liked to grill him on.
I do not want to be a little gnat and pester him so I will probably ask these once I have moved further along down this surgery path.

He was very considerate of my concerns but also firm saying he will ultimately make the decision on how much movement to make during the procedure.
The good thing is he seems to err on the larger side of movements which is something I prefer as well.


At this point after the consult the main issue I can raise is simply the location, logistically it is a nightmare to do the surgery abroad. Had he been a local surgeon I would not have thought twice.

The price is also a bit high and I will extend a question to jsf members if it is a good idea to haggle at all, haggling may be too harsh a word but something like requesting a lower price or asking if they have wiggle room?










JourneyToSerenity

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #10 on: December 05, 2018, 05:02:56 AM »
He seemed extremely pleasant during my consultation with him. He answered all me questions and took his time, however, his planning of the surgery despite having the scans leaves a lot to desired. Personally, after travelling and forking out a fair amount of money for the consultation, the least I expect is for my surgeons to have taken his time and have a rough plan on what to do in order to combat my issues inc some rough measurements i.e expansion, advancement etc. When I asked him about this, he goes that will all be done closer to surgery. I was told:

"First we get an orthodontist, undergo braces, then we will plan for your surgery closer to the 6-8 month mark."

For something that can potentially change my quality of life, I expected more of a personalised plan, I felt proceeding with him would be a mistake, hence why I've ruled him out. Also, I have another fairly big issue, at least for me, that I don't really want to disclose on here in case I wrongly debase a man for something I perceived to be wrong.

Surgery is a massive risk abroad as we don't speak their native tongue, it's easy for them to palm you off if things do go wrong as you're abroad esp once surgery has been done, neither do we know the local system to hold surgeons accountable. I suppose you just have to weigh the pros and cons of having treatment at home or going abroad, and which one would be suitable for your needs. Good luck.

Since you're in NA, have you tried Dr.Gunsson?

dardok

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #11 on: December 05, 2018, 09:14:29 PM »
He seemed extremely pleasant during my consultation with him. He answered all me questions and took his time, however, his planning of the surgery despite having the scans leaves a lot to desired. Personally, after travelling and forking out a fair amount of money for the consultation, the least I expect is for my surgeons to have taken his time and have a rough plan on what to do in order to combat my issues inc some rough measurements i.e expansion, advancement etc. When I asked him about this, he goes that will all be done closer to surgery. I was told:

"First we get an orthodontist, undergo braces, then we will plan for your surgery closer to the 6-8 month mark."

For something that can potentially change my quality of life, I expected more of a personalised plan, I felt proceeding with him would be a mistake, hence why I've ruled him out. Also, I have another fairly big issue, at least for me, that I don't really want to disclose on here in case I wrongly debase a man for something I perceived to be wrong.

Surgery is a massive risk abroad as we don't speak their native tongue, it's easy for them to palm you off if things do go wrong as you're abroad esp once surgery has been done, neither do we know the local system to hold surgeons accountable. I suppose you just have to weigh the pros and cons of having treatment at home or going abroad, and which one would be suitable for your needs. Good luck.

Since you're in NA, have you tried Dr.Gunsson?

I have heard Gunson has absolutely ridiculous prices. Although I value expertise my surgery is just about as simple logistically as a genioplasty.

In your case the with a much more complex procedure I understand the concern for a more indepth plan. It is a concern that he could do a small f**k up and sweep it under the rug, its true that even a local surgeon could do this but the added language barrier will make things harder.

I wonder if a local or someone I bring with me can be there for the surgery or he could record it.

Also if you do not mind sharing the concern you don't want to post on here via PM or another messenger I would highly appreciate it.

I need all the information I can get.


ditterbo

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #12 on: December 06, 2018, 05:07:14 PM »
I'm from the US, and Alfaro priced me almost the same as Gunson for bimax (except Alfaro threw in a rhinoplasty that I didn't want to bother asking to remove anyway since we were so far off). More than Relle too. I think he tries to rip off people abroad and charge half of that for locals, but that's just my opinion.

I too am curious of this scandalous opinion of yours, if you're willing to PM me it.

ExtractionsRuinFaces

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2018, 01:02:25 PM »
I felt a bit rushed out of the door when I saw him personally. He also recommended movements that far exceeded what any other surgeon recommended (7-9mm) vs the usual 5-6 that other surgeons have mentioned. Judging by the results on his website he over advances people a bit, at least to my eye. Definitely very skilled with the techniques he uses though.

dvfan

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Re: What are peoples thoughts on Alfaro?
« Reply #14 on: January 01, 2019, 12:41:06 AM »
I liked him a lot. He really took time for me and looked at my case in detail. He seemed knowledgeable and his results looked very good. I saw a patient of his that looked marvelous too.