bad results - Seattle, WA

I went to Dr. Richard Rand in 2004 for my first breast lift, on the advice of a friend who had had augmentation implants done by him just a few months earlier. She was happy. So I met with him as well as another plastic surgeon just for comparison. Dr. Rand definitely had a wonderful "bedside manner." He was ever so attentive and gave me a good explanation of the procedure and his special breast lift technique and I was convinced I had selected the perfect doctor for the job...OMG! Was I ever mistaken. I followed all the protocols, and was completely optimistic about the outcome. First problem after the surgery was a very large--2 in. X 4 in. hematoma in my left breast. So the day following the surgery I had to go back and he opened the incision and drained it. Still, I was undaunted until the bandages came off a few days later. My Left nipple was markedly higher than the Right one. At my post-op appt. I expressed my concern about this and was assured that as soon as the swelling subsided it would be "fine." So I waited several weeks. The asymmetry of my nipples was still obvious--the Left being ONE INCH HIGHER than the other. I called to speak w/ Dr. Rand, but could only speak w/ his assistant who continued to tell me that my breasts had not yet "settled" enough to see the final results. I continued to call as the weeks rolled by, but never could speak to the doctor and finally just gave up as I decided that I would never allow him to operate on my breasts again considering how he did not care at all about my satisfaction with his "special technique." I kept pictures of the disparity and now, nine years later have finally had the breast lift redone by a skilled surgeon, and my nipples are on a symmetrical level. Finally. And only a few days have passed since the surgery. The earlier surgery done by Dr. Rand was a fiasco that cost me thousands of dollars and left me self-conscious about wearing clothing that could possibly show the outline of my uneven nipples. My solution was to always wear a slightly padded bra even though I certainly did not need extra volume.