jawsurgeryforums.com
General Category => Functional Surgery Questions => Topic started by: Autumn12 on August 30, 2014, 12:54:39 PM
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I have spoken to a few surgeons and I haven't really gotten any feedback that I'm satisfied with. I know that I have a problem with my jaw because it's visibly crooked. My chin is somewhat retruded and I have difficulty keeping my mouth closed and lips together. Additionally, the angle of my lower jaw is too steep, so my face looks long and narrow.
A couple of surgeons have suggested nothing more than genioplasty but that won't address the crookedness or jaw angle. Another surgeon seemed a little too casual about the surgery and hasn't gotten great patient reviews.
A lot of what I've read on this and other forums has been very disconcerting-post surgical relapses, nerve damage, and other horror stories, in addition to the overwhelming number of people who are just dissatisfied with the results of their procedures.
How is everyone here evaluating surgeons and what kinds of questions should I be asking?
How are you deciding on whether or not to have surgery?
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Where do you live? It's definitely worth consulting with some of the better surgeons to see what they think. Based on what other people here have written about their experience with them, it's definitely worth paying for a consultation with Arnett and Gunson if you live somewhat close to that area.
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Autumn, I know what you mean about the cases where things have gone wrong, reading those can be very disconcerting. it seems like such a long and invasive process that when you add in the risks it can appear very daunting. are you encouraged in any way by the success stories?
for me I'm going to try participating here as much as I can and reading up so that I can be as informed as possible prior to making any decisions. I really like that there's so much info here and some really knowledgeable posters. :)
Gregor, that's a really good idea about going for consultations with some of the leading surgeons. even if I am just going to get it done fairly local, I could go much further afield for a few consults with top experts so that I have their views to go on when dealing with a more 'minor' surgeon. that's kinda condescending but still. i'd thought about trying a cosmetic surgeon as the maxfac surgeons I've seen don't appear to be all that aesthetically minded.
I'm in the uk/Ireland so does anyone have the names of the leading surgeons in this area or the rest of Europe?
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Paul Johnson (England)
Ramin Zarrinbal (Germany)
Sandro Pelo (Italy)
Albino Triaca (Switzerland)
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thanks, Gregor
I wonder what the going rate is for a consult with one of those guys. the other thing too is that I wonder if it would be a bad idea to go to someone who wasn't maybe that fluent in English. this might be ott but i'd worry that some crucial stuff might get lost in translation, if you know what I mean. after all this whole thing is bewildering enough as it is.
do you think it's likely that all highly trained surgeons would have good English as it's bound to be the language that all science stuff is exchanged in internationally?
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Pretty much all of the highly trained surgeons I've met have been good at English. Many of them have studied in the US. A consultation with Paul Johnson costs 250 pounds the last time I checked. I don't know what the other three charge.
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do you know if Paul Johnson is based in London? as i'm concerned about my lower facial appearance - I feel the shape of my chin contributes to what i'm unhappy with - would it be worthwhile to also consult a cosmetic surgeon?
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He's based in Guildford. It doesn't take long to take the train there from London. Paul Johnson is also a plastic surgeon so he definitely does cosmetic stuff as well. My only complaint about him is that his consultations are rather expensive and you don't get a complete surgery plan out of them like you do when you have a consultation with Arnett and Gunson. Other than that he has a very good reputation so if you're looking for a surgeon in England then I would recommend him above anyone else.
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did you have a consultation with Paul Johnson? even though i'm only just hearing about it now, a complete surgery plan is the kind of thing I've been concerned about when it comes to consultations. the consult I had a few years ago with a maxfac surgeon seemed like a vague chit chat tbh. nothing really concrete or detailed was established. he sort of just suggested that he might do this or that but he'd have to see. it kinda just left me feeling as if, as the patient, I was expected to go through the process in the dark and then wake up to find out what the surgeon had done to me.
on the cost side of things I wouldn't mind paying top dollar if the surgeon was highly rated and I got a detailed description of what needed to be done. that way i'd have a standard to compare the approach of a more local surgeon to. in the end i'd have to go more local I think due to travel and all.
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You should contact his office manager Tina and ask her about it. None of the people from here who consulted with him got a surgery plan though. I suspect he will only make one if you decide on having the surgery which might seem a bit backward if you ask me.
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Chin Wing.
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I am in the US on the east coast-mid Atlantic region. Am I close to any of the top aurgeons?
How were these surgeons determined to be the best?
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I am in the US on the east coast-mid Atlantic region. Am I close to any of the top aurgeons?
How were these surgeons determined to be the best?
Names were pulled out of a hat.
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Where do you live? It's definitely worth consulting with some of the better surgeons to see what they think. Based on what other people here have written about their experience with them, it's definitely worth paying for a consultation with Arnett and Gunson if you live somewhat close to that area.
I'm all the way across the country on the East Coast. In amy case, I took a look at their website. For me, the pictures I saw were not great. The chins in the after photos looked exaggerated. I wouldn't want that much advancement. I think it looks unnatural. I don't know if they've had chin procedures as well but I want my lower jaw to appear shorter and a lot of those pictures seem to show a longer lower jaw, or the chin advancement makes them appear that way. It looks like everyone ends up wirh the same look, rather than something that best suits the individual person. I look at things from a more aesthetic point of view, so despite what a surgeon may deem anatomically correct, I may not be satisfied.
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Names were pulled out of a hat.
That's really an inappropriate comment. I asked a valid question that did not deserve a sarcastic answer. Every year, local magazines publish a list of the "best" doctors, chosen by an undisclosed number of patients who may have been diagnoaed and treated for nothing more than a cold. After seeing several "top rated" doctors myself, I'm skeptical of ratings.
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That's really an inappropriate comment. I asked a valid question that did not deserve a sarcastic answer. Every year, local magazines publish a list of the "best" doctors, chosen by an undisclosed number of patients who may have been diagnoaed and treated for nothing more than a cold. After seeing several "top rated" doctors myself, I'm skeptical of ratings.
Actually, my comment was entirely appropriate.
As someone who was badly botched by a so called, 'top', world famous surgeon, you're not the only one who is sceptical.
Drop the attitude and you might find people more willing to engage.
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Reassess. You're the one with the attitude. I asked a simple question and can't get an answer that isn't tainted with disdain.
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Come back and tell me to 'reassess' when you've been here longer than 3 minutes.
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Since I joined here I have watched how two extremely well-known surgeons have had their reputations destroyed due to a number of botched cases that came to light through this forum. Before then they were considered to be two of the best surgeons in the world. How did they get a reputation like that even though they most likely don't deserve it? It's hard to say, but it's usually a case of them being well-known amongst other surgeons due to speaking at conferences and getting a lot of their work published. Another major factor is also that people tend to recommend surgeons that they've heard are good without actually having any experience with them themselves. so that sort of thing tends to snowball. Arnett and Gunson are two surgeons that have probably benefited the most from this although I can't say if they deserve their reputation or not.
The best thing you can do is to consult with as many surgeons as possible before you decide on one. That way you'll be in a better position to determine if the surgery plan makes sense or not.
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Obviously you need to have a surgeon who is competent enough to do the surgery without f**king up and leaving you with a unpleasant complication, but for the ultimate outcome IMO, the surgery plan is somewhat more important than the technical skill of the surgeon. Even with the best surgeon in the world, if the plan is s**tty then the outcome is going to be sub par; I'd rather have a surgeon with a 10/10 plan and 8/10 technical skill than vice versa
This is part of the issue with Mommaerts - I don't doubt his technical skill as a surgeon (when he's not putting HA over screws or letting his trainees do the surgery) - but his plans tend to suck, or at least they did for many of us
A&G are both great technically, and produce some of the best surgical plans which is why they have such a great reputation. Dr Joseph also seems great but he doesn't take out of state patients as I understand
This is why it's important to get at least 3 opinions. The two plans I've received differ significantly and to me one is far superior to the other. Once you have X rays you can post your pics here, the collective input of this board can give better insight than some surgical consults
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I would definitely agree with what Tiny said. Another thing to point out is that some procedures are not done by all surgeons. I don't think Arnett and Gunson do chin wings for example so if you need one then they would obviously not be right for you.
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Since I joined here I have watched how two extremely well-known surgeons have had their reputations destroyed due to a number of botched cases that came to light through this forum.
You're not referring to Arnett and Gunson as the two surgeons who had their reps ruined? Who are those surgeons or how can I find out who they are?
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You're not referring to Arnett and Gunson as the two surgeons who had their reps ruined? Who are those surgeons or how can I find out who they are?
No it was not those two. One of the the two surgeons I mentioned is Maurice Mommaerts and he has botched the surgeries of several members on this forum along with coming up with really s**tty surgery plans for those who only consulted with him. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to mention the other one but I can tell you that he has his practice in the US.
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No it was not those two. One of the the two surgeons I mentioned is Maurice Mommaerts and he has botched the surgeries of several members on this forum along with coming up with really s**tty surgery plans for those who only consulted with him. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to mention the other one but I can tell you that he has his practice in the US.
Well if anyone can tell me who the other surgeon is, I would greatly appreciate it. I've had a LOT of medical problems during my lifetime, not including the jaw issues, and I've seen a lot of bad doctors. I'm probably going into this as a much older person than most of you, so if something did go awry, I probably wouldn't find a way to fix it in my lifetime. It's because I've had other medical problems that I've had to wait so long to address this. I would be willing to sign some sort of confidentiality agreement if necessary. I have no interest in telling anyone. I just want to avoid this person, if at all possible.
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How old are you?