SandraJaneThank you for the feedback. I've actually read Dr. O's book and it was very helpful. When looking at burring/grinding vs reconstruction, I actually have concerns with both. With grinding (Dr. Z), I'm unsure if enough material could be feasibly removed. However, with reconstruction (Dr. DiMaggio), I'm afraid I'll end up with a completely flat forehead and sloped nose. Also the riskier complications with reconstruction scare me. Although all this talk of painful massaging with Dr. Z has me equally freaked out now.
I sent Dr. DiMaggio a series of Photoshop manipulations I made to my forehead to get his opinion on what is possible (
http://i.imgur.com/xriQQ.jpg). Personally, I think somewhere between #2 and #3 looks the best. However, I think #4 and #5 is more common with Dr. DiMaggio. I prefer to have an indentation at the end of the forehead because it matches my sisters' faces.
SwanIt's funny to hear someone finally recommending cheek implants. ALL of the feedback I've received on the Yahoo FFS-Support group has been against the them strongly. Dr. DiMaggio gave a very pragmatic explanation for suggestion the cheek implants which I liked. He stated that it appeared I use to have an under-bite that was corrected with orthodontics and not surgery, so this made my cheeks appear more sunken. He reasoned that implants would help the cheeks stand out given the strong lower projection. I did in fact have a strong under-bite as a kid and had braces twice... pretty impressive he could determine all that based on just my current photos and my x-rays. I'm wondering if it would make sense to hold off on cheek implants to see how things turn out first though. And then if I still want them, I could go to any surgeon in a year.
JenevaHaha, thanks for another vote on the cheek implants; I must say I'm surprised. Thanks for the link to your thread, I've been following it. Congrats on the progress!
RanethThank you so much for posting your before/after photos! Are you happy with your nose now? Did you discuss the type of nose you wanted with Dr. Z beforehand, or did he just do what he felt would look best? I think your brow looks good (this is more the result I would like). Regarding the cheek implants, why are you unsure? Do you feel like the fat injections would have been enough alone or something else? Thanks!
MementomoriI asked Dr. DiMaggio about the depressions at the temples and here is the response I received from Amanda:
"Apparently the hollowness of your temples is partially produced by the contrast between that area and the protrusion of the orbital rims and the crests of the frontal bone. These crests are the vertical boundaries between the frontal bone and the temporal fossae (the hollowing on each temple area). Some surgeons like to fill out the temples with fat or other materials, but this is usually because they don't reset the brow bossing properly. We don't recommend this approach. It could end up resembling a motorcycle helmet. The right approach would be grinding down the vertical crests and the orbital rims protrusion, levelling them to the current hollow level, instead of filling out the hollowness. Once the forehead protrusion and the orbital rims get reduced, the hollowing will stop looking like such, or at least the contrast will be much lower. I mean, the idea of making a continuous smooth concave outline for the forehead/temples area is the same, but instead of bringing the deep areas outwards we propose to "push" the protruding areas backwards. Your sisters have some degree of hollowness on the temples although smoother than yours, so you might expect to get something similar after the crests of your frontal bone, your brow bossing and your orbital rims get reduced."
Regarding issues with Dr. DiMaggio in the past, I had heard he use to work with a company that did the arrangements for foreign patients, but the company was unreliable. So he he opted to bring Amanda (who handles all the patient arrangements) directly into his clinic. I could be totally off, but that's what I briefly heard.
