II had a primary rhinoplasty with Dean Toriumi several years ago. Without question, I regard allowing Dean Toriumi to operate on me as the biggest mistake of my life. I have never felt more violated. Because much of the damage that he created is apparently irreversible, I likely will be paying for this mistake for the remainder of my life. I am reminded of this every morning when I look in the mirror.
Before going further, I would like to make several points. First, I am not the former Toriumi patient who posts as “K”. Nor have I posted a ‘reports’ on other sites created expressly for patient reviews. My experience is in addition to these other individuals.
Secondly, most, if not all, posts in response to this post which are critical of me and/or which doubt the authenticity of what I am saying, are almost certainly posts from persons that are neither former nor future patients. Instead, these posts are from persons whose business is to be active in this forum and others like it, solely to suppress or discredit the stories of dissatisfied patients. They call themselves ‘reputation managers,’ or something similar, and likely have little to no first hand knowledge about the skills or outcomes of the surgeons whom they are defending. Ignore them. They are not here to learn or share a personal experience. They are here on business.
Lastly, view my results, read my story, and form your own opinion. Try to make an educated decision. Be careful. There is little if any real regulatory or professional oversight of this industry and you are largely on your own.
My experience
My surgery differed dramatically both from what Toriumi and I had discussed and from the computer imaging on which I based my consent. Further, much of what was done was against my explicit instructions. That is to say, he did exactly what I asked him not to do.
•Despite me saying multiple times that I did not want the size of my nose changed and that I did not want any changes to the boney portion of my nose, Dr. Toriumi did the following:
oDramatically increased the width of my nose (doubling the width at the tip), increased the length (by approx. 25%) and increased the distance my nose sticks out from my face (by approx. 7 mm).
oPlaced layer upon layer of some tissue over the bridge of my nose,
Because of the increased distance my nose sticks out from my face, things like drinking from a champagne glass or kissing my girlfriend are now difficult things to do. Because of the tissue and grafting over the boney portion of my nose, I have constant discomfort and frequent pain there.
• Without my knowledge or consent, he used material from a cadaver (a dead person) which carried a risk of transmitting HIV and other serious infectious diseases. Moreover, he used this material weeks into a scandal that prompted the FDA to recall the product from the market because of concerns of increased risk of transmission of HIV, Hepatitis, and other serious infectious diseases. (link)
• I flew to Chicago numerous times at great personal expense for follow-up visits in which Toriumi instructed me to perform cartilage massage for the crookedness of my nose. I later learned that this treatment was dismissed as ‘sham’ (ie, worthless; of no value; it doesn’t work) by a panel of rhinoplasty experts which included Toriumi’s colleague Regan Thomas.
The aesthetics of the images (link and PW below) in the photos speak for themselves. What the photos don’t show are the constant pressure and frequent discomfort that the grafts over the boney portion of my nose cause and the frequent unsightly nasal swelling that I experience. Also, because my nasal passages are so wide open, my nose is severely dry in the winter months that I have difficulty sleeping as a result.
Pics:
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PW: ToriumiNightmare
Conclusion
You likely will never be more vulnerable than when you are on an operating room table. It's important that your surgeon be technically competent but it is equally important that your surgeon be someone who is of sound ethics. Your surgeon should be someone that you can trust, someone that acts in good faith, someone whose word can be relied upon, and someone who places your best interests ahead of their personal career interests of advancing a new rhinoplasty surgical paradigm. Character matters.
Based upon my experience, I cannot recommend Dean Toriumi as a physician.
My dr toriumi rhinoplasty nightmare (PICS) 
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