This doctor disfigured my eyes and did not help me recover

After further review of my experience, as well as upon reading the experiences of other clientele more closely on other platforms, I am not confident that Dr. Cook is upholding an ethical standard of patient care, safety, and professional behaviors in his practice. As a 20-year-old graduate student navigating life with botched eyelid surgery and disfigurement from Dr. Cook, and as a patient casted aside to understand and piece together options for treatment/correction on my own for the past 1.5 years since my traumatic experience at Pure Facial Plastics, I encourage you to read my story because I am living with the consequences of my decision everyday and I hope my experience can prevent someone from making the same mistake.

Description:
I had wanted an upper blepharoplasty to attain symmetry in my eyes since one had more adipose/skin tissue causing it to droop more than the other. After researching procedures and surgeons, I was excited to finally have this procedure done since this was a feature that had bothered me since I was a kid and was told this was "low risk" with a generally quick recovery time. All plastic surgeons I consulted with recommended a bleph to both of my eyelids (even though only one bothered me) to ensure symmetry. Needless to say, this turned into the worst decision of my life, and I continue to live with the consequences 1.5 years later. Two major problems occurred, (1) excessive removal of adipose tissue/skin, (2) elevated eyelid line not suited for my features, (3) deep tension scars created from the aggressive nature of the surgery and care not taken when my sutures opened up a week after the surgery. As a result, I have spent this past year undergoing scar treatments and fillers to correct the scars and hollowness.

Lesson 1: what kind of sutures?
Several emails were exchanged that expressed my concern (w/ proof of pictures) of my sutures opening early. Dr. Cook reassured me that it was fine and it was normal for this to happen with dissolvable sutures. This was Lesson 1 for me: ask your surgeon if they plan to use dissolvable or non-dissolvable sutures. I assumed non-dissolvable ones were to be used since they are stronger and tend to result in less scarring. I believe the sutures used (in addition to the tension) dissolved too quickly, resulting in my eyelids progressively opening to the point of them bleeding 2 weeks post-op. It was only at this point that Dr. Briggs decided to take action. To my shock, he numbed the area around my eyes and proceeded to reopen the area around the opened sites with a scalpel. This was painful and horrifying because I realized that he was not just going to re-suture the opened areas, but instead, he was reopening the majority of the eyelid line again to re-suture about 70% of the eyelid on my R and 50% of the L. It was decided to use stronger dissolvable sutures that would last 8-10 weeks since I was in the process of moving states for school. I was left with heavily textured scars with lines that still resemble where the sutures were placed.

Lesson 2: Find a Surgeon who takes the time to understand. And can state exactly what you want done back to you (i.e. they don't just quickly agree/nod in accordance).
With the guidance and help of a new plastic surgeon, I spent a year undergoing scar treatments and eventually fillers, but at this point I have exhausted my options. These treatments have reached a threshold, the scars have not improved and there is no more "space" to inject filler, so I was referred to an Opthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive surgeon. This particular surgeon was the first to explain to me that Dr. Cook did not individualize my blepharoplasty to my features. Dr. Cook essentially gave me caucasian eyes, despite my Spanish and Eastern ethnic background. Dr. Cook took too much adipose and skin tissue, despite my young age. Dr. Cook treated me like a characterless patient, and he treated me even less than this when I came to his office to talk about my options. This was Lesson 2: make sure you choose a surgeon who takes the time to hear exactly how you want your surgery to be. At the time, I felt like all was clear (especially since I just wanted my R eye to look like my L eye), but after being under the care of my current surgeons, I understand that Dr. Briggs took a “cookie-cutter” approach to my surgery. In retrospect, I think he had other patients to juggle during my consultation time block, so my interpretation of him agreeing and comprehending what I wanted was him just agreeing to quickly move on to the next patient. Coincidentally, I discovered in my first semester that this was one of the first things they teach in medical school: do not take a "cookie cutter" approach with your patients, in addition to Interprofessional Communication, which I will get to below. To compare my experience with Dr. Briggs to the current surgeons I see, they spent 1 hour each talking about my experience, examining detailed photos of the current state of my eyes, and took time to appreciate what my face used to look like, which is still hard for me to see.

To return to interprofessional communication, I remember this during my very first semester because each class was a stab in the heart, for it was a reminder of how poorly Dr. Cook treated me. I have reached out to him at least 5 times this past year seeking genuine advice and help. I wrote to him about my experience in heartfelt, non-accusatory terms and have only been met with rejection after rejection. I even waited at the office for 4 hours to talk to him after his last patient. I was put in a room and a kind nurse said she would see if he had time to speak with me about my concerns. I heard him refuse to see me, despite me being just behind the door. This nurse was the only person in the office to look at me in my eyes, acknowledged my pain, and showed understanding for the trauma I experienced and continue to experience every day as I avoid my friends, family, peers, and professors because I can’t stand for them to see my scars and my freakish looking face. Dr. Briggs did not look at me in my eyes. Instead, I felt like he discarded me just like I had already removed myself from the public and from living my life.

I have learned so much from the isolation I have kept myself in since this surgery in 2017. I have overcome the highs and lows of my mental health while trying to navigate a rigorous medical program. I have learned so much from this time completely alone, and it has taken all my strength to pull myself out of the darkest parts of my mind. "First, do no harm," was an oath I took when earning my white coat. I understand that there are risks with every surgery but for every patient I work with, I cannot help but to have empathy for the pain and suffering they carry, and I take responsibility for my actions in clinic. At the end of the day, any type of comfort, support, or caring when I was your patient would have helped my healing all the more because I was left a shell of the person I was before, I was left with part of my ethnic identity erased, and I was left to figure all this out on my own and this is what I will never forget about you and your clinical practice.