I first met Dr. Anil Shah in January of 2009, a year after I suffered from a botched rhinoplasty procedure. By this time, I was still devastated by the fact that I spent time, effort and money on a surgery that I had hoped would change my life, but which only ended up disappointing me. Even though I did want to have my nose fixed, I felt like I could never trust another rhinoplasty surgeon again.
Ironically, my first appointment with Dr. Shah was not for rhinoplasty, but for botox injections to the jaw in order to treat my TMJ. Yes, you can actually inject botox into your jaw! This is a great treatment if you suffer from TMJ, or teeth-grinding. However, not all surgeons are qualified to administer this type of Botox since it requires extensive training and experience to perform Botox injections in the jaw area. In fact, before I met Dr. Shah in 2009, I used to fly all the way from Chicago to Texas in order to see a doctor who specializes in jaw Botox. Needless to say, I was thrilled when Dr. Anil Shah moved from New York City and opened up his practice in Chicago. There are only a few doctors in the country who I consider letting inject Botox into my jaw, and now one of them was finally in my hometown, Chicago!.
For a total of four years, I regularly went to Dr. Shah for my Botox injections. Although I quickly discovered he was regarded as one of the best rhinoplasty surgeons in the world, I did not once bring up the topic of revsion rhinoplasty during any our appointments. I suppose one of the reasons is because I had such a traumatic experience during my first rhinoplasty procedure that it was hard for me to think of trusting another surgeon yet again. However, this began to change over the course of my 4 years seeing Dr. Shah for TMJ treatment. During this time, I had the opportunity to not just 1 or 2, but many of Dr. Shah’s rhinoplasty patients–and literally every single patient not only looked great, but was extremely happy.
It needs to be stressed that these meetings were not “one or 2 good references” but chance encounters that happened right in Dr. Shah’s waiting room. They would happen while I’m waiting to see Dr. Shah or about to leave his clinic. As opposed to talking with other rhinoplasty patients in review sites and forums, the meetings I had at Dr. Shah’s waiting room were spontaneous, face-to-face and unrehearsed. In short, I got to meet with real patients, not simply a bunch of anonymous folks with usernames online. My hopes began to grow as I saw more and more patients who not only looked great but were glowingly happy after their primary or revision rhinoplasty procedure with Dr. Shah. They say that seeing is believing, and what I saw convinced me that I’ve finally found the revision rhinoplasty surgeon who could change everything. While I swore I would never have another rhinoplasty procedure, to my surprise, my hopes were restored.
Looking back, I have to say that meeting REAL patients (who were very happy) was definitely a pivotal factor for my change of heart. To this day, it still amazes met that I actually met not just one, but several patients who also suffered from a botched rhinoplasty procedure –and from my very same primary surgeon! They went to Dr. Shah for revision rhinoplasty and are now happy and look fantastic. When I learned that Dr. Shah helped others who suffered a botched nose job from the same very surgeon I used, it fully restored my faith and hope. I never dreamed the day would come, but 7 years after my primary rhinoplasty, I finally found a surgeon I could trust. And to top if off, is considered to be one of the best rhinoplasty surgeons in the world. Who would every think that this surgeon was literally “right under my nose” for the past 4 years!