July 20, 2007
So far, an exciting month with many fantastic rhinoplasties, revision rhinoplasties, functional surgery, cosmetic surgery…all great successes. I am preparing for my participation in a cosmetic surgery course in Newport Beach, CA, next month. I have been asked to discuss complications in rhinoplasty, the physician-patient relationship, and my experience with off-label uses of Sculptra. I have also been invited to speak at the Dept. of Otolaryngology at UC Irvine while I am in California…another honor. I am really looking forward to the trip, not only because it gives me a chance to return to Southern California, but because I enjoy talking about my passions…surgery and how it affects my patients.
July 5, 2007
June was another great month. On the clinical side, I performed a number of great surgeries, including one surgery that lasted 8 hours! It included a deep plane facelift, blepharoplasties, forehead lift, rhinoplasty, chin implant, and fat transfer from the abdomen to the face. The patient has done wonderfully, and two weeks after surgery was able to fly to Australia looking and feeling great! Another June facelift/forehead lift patient at two weeks after surgery is going on vacation looking fantastic. One of my facelifts from May came back looking absolutely wonderful, at least 10 years younger. She, too, is thrilled.
Rhinoplasties dominated the June schedule, with many successful surgeries of both primary and revision rhinoplasties.
Academically, I was in charge of the Dept. of Otolaryngology’s annual graduation research day. I invited Dr. Ted Cook from Portland, OR, to be our visiting professor, and ran a panel with Dr. Cook, Dr. Nicolas Tabbal, Dr. Norman Pastorek, Dr. Philip Miller, and Dr. Anil Shah. The day was a huge success with a very high caliber of talks given. I presented 3 research papers that will be also presented at the Annual Fall National Meeting of the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery. All in all, a very good month.
Dear Dr. Constantinides,
It has been a year since my surgery with you and I just wanted to express my appreciation for your surgical expertise and your kindness. As you know, I had years of trouble breathing that resulted from two injuries to my nose as a teenager – from basketball and later karate – that left me with a deviated septum and a rhinoplasty after that which narrowed my nasal passages. For years I breathed mainly through my mouth, but I was able to get by. As an adult, however, I developed sleep apnea and needed to wear a full-face mask to get a restful sleep. This became a real problem as the mask was uncomfortable and often shifted at night which stopped it from working efficiently.
Nervous about having surgery as an adult and having a rather complex set of problems. I really appreciated the time you spent explaining everything to me and giving me a very realistic assessment of what I could expect. We had several consults and each time I noted how patient you were in your explanations. And I remember you holding my hand in the operating room as the anesthesia was taking effect.
Now it is a year after my procedure and the full-face mask is gone and I am able to comfortably breathe through my nose. What’s best is that my wife no longer complains about my snoring. Everything went way better than I had ever hoped. I can’t thank you enough.
Sincerely,
RB
Manhattan, June 2007
I just returned from a fantastic meeting in Boston. “Advances in Rhinoplasty” is the longest running meeting on rhinoplasty in the world. It is an honor to be invited as a faculty member, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to lecture and be on a panel there. I lectured on “Diced, Crushed and Solid Cartilage Grafts in Rhinoplasty”, and was a panel member on the “Alar Base Reductions” panel. I was one of the youngest rhinoplasty surgeons to be invited, with most lecturers well into their fifties and sixties. Some of the concepts I spoke about were novel and exciting alterations in surgical technique and philosophy. Feedback from the most senior members was fantastic. The course was attended by over 350 surgeons from around the world, and included a cadaver dissection for those interested. An amazing experience for everyone!
