William Lao, M.D. - Center for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery New York — Local services in New York

4 months post opt and it has taken me this long to get to this review bc i'm so devasted, and embarrassed and writing this is just re-trauma of the whole thing but i have to speak out, I'm filled with resentment and anger and sadness, its terrifying. $13000 later, it was supposed to be worth it, I was going to be happier, more confident, it's been the complete opposite, I am more insecure now, I can't even focus on anything in my life right now bc i'm so overwhelmed still by how i look now, the worst experience of my life. This is the last thing i ever wanted with all the money i spent. It just wasn't on my radar that my eyes could look worse afterwards, I'm devastated and completely traumatized and the Doctor does not care. They keep cancelling my post op meeting every time the day of via email and pushing me back a whole month every time, so rude. I felt rushed into the procedure bc when you get your consultation immediately afterwards they emailed me an offer that expires in a few hours bc of my time difference, stating that if I put $2000 down right now, not refundable, they will take 10% off the total, and the email is super unclear and makes it sound like i could have used care credit for the rest which i found out later i could not. I wanted to save money so I did it, but i was not able to take my time, consult with other doctors and think it through, it definitely rushed me into doing the procedure without adequate research of my options. I had upper and lower bleph surgery done, upper to address a weak fold from a previous surgery and lower to remove inner corner under eye wrinkles. I had a small barely noticeable undereye puffiness before underneath my left eye and now post opt it is a huge very noticeable bulging eye bag that I am now extremely insecure about. Dr. Laos assistant emailed me post op with a completely false statement saying that they recommended taking the fat out but i declined, a complete and utter lie, that is malpractice! He "should have" recommended that, I brought it up as a concern but he did not address it .The surgery itself created more fine lines and wrinkles under my eyes, literally, my under eyes looks so much worse. I have darker skin tone, fitzpatrick 4, I am not an ideal candidate for this type of invasive cutting of my face, it healed horribly, scaly, bubbly under my eyes and the surgery itself literally created new wrinkles i never had. I was so ignorant to not ask enough questions, i just trusted him. The surgery itself is extremely invasive, he said we are just cutting a little skin off....its the most invasive thing ever done to me, my lower eyelids were completely cut open and stitched together i looked like frankenstein for months i had no idea the post opt was going to be so brutal and take so long to heal, it was a total nightmare unfolding as i started to see the final results. He couldn't get me numb, the numbing injections were so painful and they didn't work, i felt everything, it was so horrible. I had such high hopes for this, i left my work, my home, my family to travel across the world, stayed in a hotel for 10 days by myself, i had never been to nyc i was terrified but i did it all to have this as my result, what a nightmare! Everyday i wish it never happened and i could wake up and it was just a dream. Even the one eye he did for my upper bleph does not look good, he just put 3 temporary stitches in, and the inner fold is not deep at all and looks like my skin is a saggy and loose, like a bed sheet that is not tucked in tight. When i tried to to talk to him and explain my concerns with the results he just acts like he has no idea what i'm talking about. They do not care, he is not accountable, his team emailed me back saying "You're results are great, the surgery was a success". I'm so traumatized by all of this, i need to get back to my life and my kids and be happy, its so hard. P.S. I am using an alias name to protect...

I had eyelid surgery here (suture method) and could not be happier with the results. I was hesitant to get this surgery and went back and forth for a couple years. I was really worried it would look unnatural. I am detailing my journey below, because in my research beforehand I didn’t find many explanations on what really happens with the eyelid surgery suture method in particular. TLDR: I am SO happy with the results and have zero regrets. I highly recommend it and it is absolutely worth it. Recovery is a couple weeks, maximum. In the context of life, that is nothing. I am so much more confident and have even had days without eye makeup, which I never would have done before! Thank you Dr. Lao, Nancy, and the entire office and staff for the attention, detail, and care with my surgery! ~ Full journey: I live out of state and had a consultation over a video call. I was able to see Dr. Lao’s eyelid surgery work on various patients with different eye shapes and needs. He talked through the process and recovery very clearly and also understood the result I wanted. I am of Chinese decent and had uneven eyelids, one was a monolid and one was a double lid. I just wanted them to be more symmetrical. I also was not interested in the cut method, only the suture method. The cut method just sounded too risky and the suture method is reversible. Surgery day went smoothly. Dr. Lao did measurements down to the millimeter and used an eyelid “fork” to replicate the suture placement so I could see a preview of what the result would look like on each eye. He recommended just a 6mm difference for the monolid. I really appreciate the honesty from him, so that the result would look the most natural. We ended up also adding sutures to my other eye to open it up just slightly more. The surgery itself took less than 20 minutes I think. I will not lie, it was painful for me. The numbing shots were the most painful part. There were three injections on each eye I think, and some were under the eyelid. I thought I was going to pass out! After I was numb, I wasn’t in pain during the sutures being put in. I did however feel the thread going in and out in a weird way. So it wasn’t painful, but you could feel something was happening. It is very hard to describe. One of the sutures had to be redone on my right eye and I am very appreciative that Dr. Lao went back and adjusted it to be the best placement possible. After surgery was pretty painful for me. I could hardly open my eyes and they were very swollen, understandably. My husband helped me back to our hotel and I just slept the rest of the day, putting ice packs on my eyes every hour or so. I also took a mild OTC pain killer. I think it was Advil. It really helped with the pain. I was very swollen for a few days, but walking around in NYC no one really cares or pays attention, haha. I applied an antibiotic gel on my eyelids for about 2 weeks. I think I could have stopped earlier, but was just being cautious. The sutures left the tiniest pinprick-sized holes on my lids (three on each), but were not visible when my eyes were open. Dr. Lao assured me they would go away in a few weeks, which they did! My eyes were swollen for probably 4 weeks or so. It did take time to go down and I looked a little odd, but not too obviously unless you look very, very closely. I work remote so just stayed off of video for a couple weeks. 1 month later I had a followup video call with Dr. Lao to check in and everything was fine. We were both happy with the results. The difference is pretty subtle and no one has made any comments. That goes to show how natural the results ended up being. This surgery will not make a night and day difference, but honestly that is the best kind. Thank you again to Dr. Lao. I am SO happy with the results. Highly recommend this office to anyone looking for very natural-looking...

Update post-op

Let me start off by saying that Dr. Lao is absolutely brilliant and truly an artist. I’m so glad I went with him for my Asian rhinoplasty. I originally chose him as my surgeon because I trusted his double board certifications, but he went above and beyond my expectations and gave me the nose of my dreams! Dr. Lao not only listened carefully to understand the aesthetic I was looking for, but he also customized it perfectly to give me the nose that fit my face most naturally.

The staff is wonderful as well. Ms. Nancy was my point of contact prior to the surgery, and she helped to answer my countless questions. Not only that, but she’s extremely quick to get back to me as well. Her responsiveness gave me a lot of trust in this practice!

On the day of the surgery, Rubie took care of me from start to finish. She is SO kind, I cannot say enough good things about Rubie. I was so nervous prior to the operation, but she comforted me, and was genuinely so excited for me (she’s so sweet!). When I awoke from the anesthesia, she was by my side, and told me to rest as long as I need to. When I was ready to leave, she actually carried me down to my car because I was feeling groggy. Truly, a wonderful assistant and just a caring person in general.

I also want to give a shout out to Dr. Baik (the anesthesiologist) who made sure I wasn’t anxious, by giving me a run down of all the anesthesia details. He is extremely intelligent, and I knew I was in safe hands!

If you’re considering Asian rhinoplasty, I very very highly recommend Dr. Lao and team. You will not only get the nose of your dreams, but you will also be taken care of and tended to. I cannot recommend this practice enough.

Consultation review pre-op

Note: this post is a review on the consultation. I have a surgery scheduled for end of March, so I’ll update the review afterwards!

I met with Dr. Lao and team to consult on a rhinoplasty procedure. Dr. Lao is extremely approachable, smart, and listened to my concerns. We worked together to create a 3D simulation, and he also made sure to answer all of my questions. The staff is also excellent—Nancy and Kristie are very kind and quick to reply to my emails!

I’m very excited for my upcoming procedure, as I know I am in good hands. I will update this review after...