Reviews

“Dr. Ho Taghva was really nice at the consultation and made sure that I wasn’t going to go too big to look unnatural or have discomfort later on. She also took the time to explain a lot of extra things about breast implants that other doctors hadn’t told me. She gave valuable insight from her perspective as a woman, which I also hadn’t gotten and wouldn’t have gotten from male doctors. I knew right after our meeting that I would want to have her perform my surgery. Afterwards, her assistant Carolyn constantly kept in touch with me and was extremely kind and helpful. On the surgery date, Dr. Ho Taghva made me f eel less nervous and was clear on what she’d be doing during the procedure. I had 300/325CC Mentor implants inserted through the armpit. It’s only been 5 weeks since, and I am already so happy with my results! I went from a Victoria Secret 32B to 32DD and it looks very natural. My biggest fear was ending up with implants too high and obvious, but by two weeks I could wear low cut shirts without people being able to tell. Dr. Ho Taghva made the incisions very small and along my already existent armpit lines, so the scars are unnoticeable and just blend in with my armpit. Overall, Dr. Ho Taghva is an extremely skilled surgeon that I recommend to everyone. She and her staff are also very kind, helpful and easy to communicate with. And as a bonus, they’re both super pretty! Go to Dr. Ho Taghva if you want excellent, natural-looking results with great service!“

“I had a revision double eyelid surgery with Dr. Ho and I am extremely happy with how it turned out. She knew what I wanted and she is very knowledgeable and knows what will work and what will not work and she will be honest with you. She truly cares about her patients wants and needs. Like everyone else says, she is very kind and beautiful, and her staff is amazing as well. I will always go to Dr. Ho’s clinic for any future surgeries and I’m already planning a fat graft with Dr Ho in the near future. This world needs more plastic surgeons like Dr. Ho!“

“I went in for a consultation with a friend and Dr. Taghva was nice enough to see us both at the same time. It’s been 3 months since my procedure and I cannot be happier. I initially wanted the epicanthoplasty as well because it was recommended to me by another surgeon in Irvine. However, Dr. Taghva advised that it was not necessary due to the shape of my eyes and the end result I was looking for. She truly cares about her patient’s post procedure satisfaction and does not try to up sell you for personal gain. She provides kenalog shots post procedure if you begin to develop any raised scar tissue, which did occur in my case and is actually quite common.“

“The incision lines were clean and the swelling came down evenly, so I didn’t have to worry about assymmetry at all (my worst fear!) Before surgery, Dr. Ho made sure that I liked the shape and height – I wanted medium parallel-shaped eyelids. I initially thought I wanted the height of the eyelids bigger, but I’m glad she really understood the anatomy of my eyes and what would look most aesthetically compatible with my face.

For my first post-op visit, I had small raised scar forming one of my eyes from the epi, but after she injected a steroid shot, it has been healing as perfectly as the other eye. It has been 2 months post-op and they look really natural! Really happy with my results!”

“Let the photos speak for themselves, Dr. Goretti is the go-to surgeon for double eyelid surgery in the US! Since I was flying in from out-of-state, I knew I wanted someone who delivered not only great but also CONSISTENT results – given Dr. Goretti’s glowing YouTube testimonials, perfect 5-star rating for her eyelid surgery practice, and amazing before & afters, I knew to choose her. ****CONSULTATION**** Since I was out-of-state, I consulted with Dr. Goretti twice over FaceTime. During the 1st, I told her the look was going for. As a guy, I asked for a natural crease with only a small eyelid margin showing. Dr. Goretti suggested a 6mm (“low”) incisional crease for me, as well as a separate but simultaneous procedure called ptosis correction. I didn’t know much about ptosis correction and was skeptical of it at first, but Dr. Goretti took ample time to draw out a diagram to explain it during my second consultation (from my understanding, standard eyelid surgery is only crease formation, whereas ptosis correction actually opens the eyes larger by strengthening the levator muscle connection). I never felt rushed, and Dr. Goretti explained everything with such confidence and clarity that I knew I could trust her. Her assistant Carolyn was also super friendly and responsive in arranging the logistics of the operation. ****THE OPERATION**** A few days before, I filled my prescriptions for the Neomycin ointment and Valium, as well as buying 3000 GDU Bromelain and 30C Arnica Montana supplements, which would help with swelling and bruising respectively. I was super nervous the day-of, but Dr. Goretti gave one last consultation to take pictures, finalize the look, and address any questions I had. After that, Carolyn escorted me to the surgical building next door. Once there, Dr. Goretti was with me the whole time – she told me to take 4 of the prescribed Valium as sedatives, and marked up measurements while I was on the table. Then, it was a blur – I was aware of everything going on, but I just didn’t really think much of anything. The procedure was mostly painless aside from the anesthetic injection, just a bit of light tugging on my eyelids. She also told me to open my eyes at various times to guarantee symmetry. ***POST-OP*** Since I was alone, Dr. Goretti’s office has a post-op care lady who checked me out following the operation and drive me home (I didn’t need post-op care since it’s a minor procedure, but the law says that someone has to check you out). I honestly felt really energized immediately post-op, but I forced myself to stay in bed, watch movies, and diligently ice my eyes. I think the icing really helped keep my swelling down and the pain away – Day 3 is supposedly the worst for swelling, but my swelling didn’t even increase at all from how it was immediately post-op, and I didn’t even use the Tylenol I bought. At around 6pm the night of the operation, Dr. Goretti was so kind to call me to check-in on how I was doing, which really shows how much she cares for her patients. ***RECOVERY*** I was told to ice my eyes for the first week, apply the Neomycin ointment 3 times a day, take my supplements and avoid salty foods. Now, I iced my eyes very diligently for the first two days, but I admittedly got bored of staying in my room all day very fast. By the second day, I was already walking around Newport Beach quite a bit with my shades on, and by the fourth day I couldn’t resist salty foods anymore, including *multiple* In-N-Out burgers… oops :-). I met Dr. Goretti 1 week post-op to remove the stitches, and she remarked that I healed very fast (which was surprising given my laziness in aftercare, haha). Stitch removal was honestly the most painful part of everything – it stung quite a bit near the inner corners, but nothing I couldn’t handle. After that, I was on my way, and as soon as 8 days post-op I felt comfortable enough walking around without even wearing any frames! Bruising was completely gone within two weeks. ***NOW – 1 MONTH POST*** Incisions have healed smoothly – I just wash with cleanser and apply Aquaphor after. Swelling is nearly completely gone in my right eye but still slightly present in my left (which is weird, since my right was more swollen immediately post-op). There’s more swelling in the mornings, but seems entirely dissipated by afternoon/night. I can still “feel” the creases a little bit when I open my eyes, but there’s no discomfort at all and I’ve gotten pretty used to it. Looking back, I think I healed unexpectedly quickly. I looked natural and felt super comfortable with friends and family as soon as 9 days post-op despite my laziness in aftercare :’), but it could be because I’m a young, fairly in-shape guy with a super fast metabolism. I wish I wasn’t so nervous about the recovery process before! They continue to look more natural every week. Dr. Goretti gave me exactly the look I asked for, and now my eyes look brighter and more awake while still remaining very natural and Asian. The recovery process was a breeze, and her office and surgical staff exceeded my expectations in responsiveness and friendliness – her assistant Carolyn even offered to drive me to my car rental after stitch removal! Anyway, Dr. Goretti is an extremely gifted surgeon with an amazing eye for Asian aesthetics, especially for eyelid surgery. She genuinely cares for her patients and will not leave the room until every single one of your concerns are thoroughly addressed. I know she’s launching her solo practice soon, so I wish her all the success because she deserves it! My experience could not have been better, and I couldn’t recommend her more to anyone seeking blepharoplasty.“

“This surgery was life-changing for me as it made a huge difference in my confidence. No more makeup, no more lashes – just ‘natural’ beauty 🙂 I was trying to decide between Dr. Ho and another very famous, older doctor who is also in CA. I was initially leaning towards him simply because of his famous name, but thank goodness I didn’t. His consult was careless, his communication is limited and delayed (NOT what you want when going through something as big as SURGERY!!), he didn’t even look at my pictures carefully enough to notice that I had quite a bit of excess skin, and then when I had to point this out to him, he told me he couldn’t predict where the crease would fall because of the excess skin (since I wasn’t removing it). Plus he just seemed annoyed at questions and like he didn’t care. Dr. Ho was the exact opposite. She was able to predict EXACTLY that if I want a 6mm crease, she would have to make it 7.5mm due to the skin. And she was bang on with that prediction. Now THAT is skill! Plus, she uses a much more advanced suture technique she learned while training in Korea. PLUS: She is kind, attentive, I feel like she cares about her patients, AND she even called me the evening of and was responsive to messages on the weekend after my surgery. Perfect combination of skill, experience, knowledge AND kindness. So grateful I went to her.“

“How I found Dr Taghva:
I grew up knowing what a double eyelid surgery was. At age 15, I knew I wanted to do it. I had consultations in Asia and California, but never found the right doctor or the right time. Finally, at 28, I discovered Dr Taghva through real self. I had my consultation. Dr Taghva was so sweet and down to earth. She was affordable and convenient for me. It seemed like the stars had aligned and I went ahead and booked my appointment. At first, they couldn’t get me the exact dates I wanted (I only had 1 full day and 1 half day as an option due to travel), but a few hours after speaking with Carolyn she made it happen!!

Surgery & Recovery:
The day of surgery, Dr Taghva made her measurements and we decided on 8mm. The surgery itself was pretty quick and I didn’t feel a thing even with local anesthesia. The entire process took about 2 hours. A few hours later, I was sore, very swollen and had lots of pressure. The pressure only lasted for the remainder of the day. By the next day, i was a bit more swollen but it was tolerable once the pressure subsided. On day 3, the swelling and bruising started subsiding. I had my stitches removed on day 8 and could go out in public without strangers noticing anything. By day 10, I had no remnants of bruising. The large majority of my swelling and bruising was gone by 2 weeks. I’m now at 4 weeks and my eyelids are already settling and much more natural. I could not be happier with my results.

Dr Taghva:
In her pictures, it’s apparent that Dr Taghva does beautiful work. I went in with a general idea of what I wanted but nothing specific. I believe that most doctors learn the general techniques, but what really separates the mediocre from the highly skilled doctors is the artistry. Dr Taghva immediately noticed my style, the balance in my face, and my genetics. I showed her what I liked and she ultimately decided what would look good. I trusted her and that was definitely the right decision. She has a keen eye for this particular surgery. There was no exact picture of what I wanted and somehow, she gave me an amazing result I couldn’t be happier with! My only regret is waiting SO long to do this surgery, but I’m glad I chose the right doctor for me.

Disclaimer: I apologize for inconsistent lighting and blurriness! i hope you get the gist of my recovery! 🙂”

“I had my Ideal Saline Implants Breast Augmentation done with Dr. Ho Taghva, and am so glad I did! I have been thinking about getting breast implants for forever but have hesitated for so long because the idea of silicone breast implants have always made me uncomfortable. Older version of saline implants on the other hand have more of an unnatural feel and look. After consulting with Dr. Ho Taghva, I found out about Ideal Saline Implants. They feel moreso like silicone gel implants yet give me the peace of mind of being saline filled. I’ve gotten so many compliments for how beautifully natural my breast augmentation looks. I just want to thank Dr. Ho Taghva and her staff for making me feel comfortable every step of the way. Her talent and work speaks for itself and I couldn’t be happier with the results.“

“I wouldn’t have wanted any other surgeon working in me. Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva is so talented and I’m so glad I waited this long to get both Asian blepharoplasty and medial epicanthoplasty done. The results were so natural and beautiful, and she was so sweet, genuine, and knowledgeable.“

“First, let me tell you my story. I made a mistake 13 years ago, when being young and stupid, I believed a TV ad about a new procedure done by Dr. Abergel. Basically, it was under eye lipo. The procedure should be banned in my opinion, unless you have huge bags of fat, which I didn’t. Now I know that all I needed back then was to add fat, not remove it. Needless to say, as soon as the internal scaring and swelling went away, a huge hollowness appeared, and my journey to fix it began.
First, I did fillers but they didn’t cover the whole area and lasted only 3 months at most. Then I made a second mistake – I put permanent Artefil from Riviera Laser, which came out bumpy under my left eye. There are no shots that dissolve Artefil ( maybe that‘s why it’s not approved for lips and under-eye by FDA ). So I got a huge bump, which rose above my cheek and the hollowness above it start to look even deeper than before. In fact, it was so deep you could put something on it, like it was a shelf.
All these years I was looking for a solution. I visited many doctors (some of them were rated as best in OC like Dr. Gangnes from FAC), who turned me away as soon as they heard about Artefil. Some of them said that they can’t put anything that close to the eye.
Finally, while searching the internet, I found impressive before/after pics by Dr. Goretti Ho Taghva, MD done on eyelids. Some were fixing serious conditions and mistakes from other surgeons. With not much hope, I asked Dr. Taghva if she could fix my problem… and that beautiful woman simply answered “Yes”.
I couldn’t believe my ears! She performed a fat transfer and placed it exactly where it was needed; below the bump – to even my cheek, and above the bump to fill that hole that no one wanted to do before. She also suggested to fill other areas on my face for symmetry and for a more youthful appearance. As she explained, since I will already be sedated and they’re already collecting my fat, she won’t charge extra for other areas of my face.
I LOVE the result, I finally got my face back, I look 10 years younger and I believe God sent her to me.“