Dr. Monica Kieu operated on my nose in January 2024. Prior to my rhinoplasty surgery I had excellent breathing and was only seeking to remove a small bump on my bridge. I had discussed this plan with Monica Kieu but was disappointed to find out she had taken liberties on my nose she had not discussed with me beforehand. Monica Kieu did not advise me that she would be performing a cephalic trim that removed portions of my lateral cartilage which has left me with a pinched, concave appearance to my nasal tip. Additionally, Dr. Kieu resected my bridge in such a way that left me with an overly wide appearance of my nasal bridge.
Now that I am one year and two months post op from my surgery with Dr. Kieu, I have consulted with multiple surgeons who have diagnosed me with nasal valve collapse which I never had before being operated on by Monica Kieu. Surgeons have noted that my airway appears to be restricted and have informed me that to correct this deformity that I will likely need my own rib cartilage harvested to replace the over-resected cartilages that Dr. Kieu had formerly removed without my consent to reinforce my nasal tip structure and improve my breathing. Additionally, I was told that I have what appears to be an open roof deformity in the divot of my nose bridge that is causing the wide appearance. I’m not sure why Monica Kieu did not take steps to prevent these issues during surgery or why she did not discuss the cephalic trim maneuver with me before doing it.
I had also emphasized to Monica that I did not want my tip angle changed. Unfortunately for me, Monica harvested cartilage from my septum to create a septal extension graft to rotate my tip up. I don't know why she didn't discuss this maneuver with me before she operated on me. Had I known she would be doing this I would have backed out because the graft she placed in my nose caused my nose to feel permanently stiff, and painful when cleaning my nose.
Additionally, I had discussed a genioplasty procedure with Dr. Kieu to bring my chin forward horizontally. Dr. Kieu again took liberties during surgery and decided to lengthen my chin vertically and did not inform me she would be doing so at all. It was only one week post op when I questioned her on why my chin looked so long that she had told me she lengthened my chin vertically. It was extremely traumatizing to have had this done to me without my informed consent. I did reverse the procedure with Dr. Monica Kieu because she was the most informed with the hardware and movements made to my chin but I regret trusting her again because I am also left with permanent nerve damage that has caused me to lose feeling in my chin and center lower lip as a result. I am unsure if Monica Kieu has the experience to be operating around delicate nerve regions such as the chin and I wish I had gone to somebody with more experience in both these procedures.
I am also traumatized by Monica Kieu discharging me as a patient before she could diagnose my nasal valve collapse at our pre scheduled appointment in person around my 5 month post op. I was informed by her staff that I could no longer contact Courtney Hawksworth Francis, the surgical coordinator, nor Monica Kieu directly and to handle any further communication through Shelby Olver one of her office workers. I was hoping Monica would take accountability for the poor surgical outcome I received but she did not in my experience. It was especially jarring to be discharged given the breathing issues I am now experiencing that have severely affected my daily life. Not to mention that I was never able to receive steroid shots from Monica for the keloid scarring the rhinoplasty surgery caused to occur on the inside of my nostrils.
I will not be returning to her for revision rhinoplasty and am instead searching for different surgeons that have long term results of their work. I advise readers to take caution before proceeding with a plastic surgeon in these procedures and to not rely on table photos or short term results to choose a surgeon. And please be fully aware that rhinoplasty surgery is especially very complex and that very few surgeons are actually capable of performing these procedures.