Laura Figura, MD

1 out of 5 stars Breast Reconstruction

Bilateral Tissue Expander / Silicone implant Breast Reconstruction for unilateral cancer

Please do your research prior to committing to a major procedure with this provider. I knew she had failed her Board Certification exam at least once, but as a professional colleague I believed her when she stated that in order to avoid muscular disfunction from asymmetry which would affect my ability to work as a physician/surgeon that I would need bilateral mastectomies with reconstruction. Unfortunately her reconstruction caused severe pain and pectoral muscle dysfunction that required months off of work and physical therapy. I was told by Dr Figura that she had never seen these problems before, but the physical therapist and second opinion plastic surgeon in Erie both indicated that they were treating multiple patients of hers with similar problems. I developed an infection that was suboptimally managed forcing me to seek care elsewhere, and then she refused to provide and further follow up care, instead blaming me for the poor results and complications. So far I have had an additional 4 surgeries to correct my complications and may require several more. The $100,000 figure above is the insurance reimbursement plus my out of pocket costs for these additional procedures. Dr Figura was paid in full by my insurance (and paid very well...she was reimbursed far more than the surgeon who actually did the mastectomies). Since the corrective procedures have finally eliminated most of my chronic pain and restored most of my arm mobility and ability to resume work, the follow up procedures have been definitely worth it, only the initial reconstruction was not. Please, please, please investigate your alternatives prior to proceeding. I can only blame myself for not obtaining a second opinion, and I live with that regret every day.