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POSTED UNDER Breast Implant Revision REVIEWS

Traumatic - the way he handled this problem was absolutely unacceptable to me

ORIGINAL POST

Traumatic

ScarlettSire

I had a breast implant exchange and mastopexy in 2017 with Dr. Delia. I went into the consult with the expressed desire to go smaller and to lift the breasts as my old saline implants had dropped considerably. Long story short, I had my surgery and ended up with the exact same sized implants (although these were silicone.) He had expressed that a smaller implant "just wouldn't work for my frame" as I'm six feet tall with a wider ribcage. This part, while disappointing, was acceptable.

What was unacceptable was the horrific wound dehiscence and necrosis I experienced about 7 days post op in my recovery. Slowly the vertical incision began to open on each breast. You could literally see the internal sutures just coming apart. Dr. Delia repeatedly reassured me this was no big deal and a common occurrence in lifts/implants. I ended up with an inch and a half gaping wound on my left breast that healed into an unsightly scar after over 3 months of intensive wound care that I performed. When I attended my follow up appointment, he had mentioned the possibility of a scar revision but informed me I'd be charged over $2000 for it.

For years I convinced myself that he was right and nothing could have been done to prevent this. I now know this is absolutely false. For background, I was 29, non smoker and in perfect health with no vascular issues. Clearly there was something wrong with the sutures along the vertical incision line.

Had he offered to fix the issue without the charge, I would have been happy to leave a positive review. I thought the placement of nipples was excellent as was the lift I received. He's obviously a very skilled surgeon, however the way he handled this problem was absolutely unacceptable to me.It took me many years to come to terms with what happened to me. This incident lead to me not showing my breasts to my husband because I was so disfigured.

Luckily, I recently sought out a revision lift and removal of implants with another surgeon. The results were phenomenal and he was able to remove all of the old scar tissue to give me beautiful and natural looking breasts for the first time in years. I am not one to leave negative reviews for businesses, but this was a truly traumatic and disfiguring event that I felt warranted one.

ScarlettSire's provider

Stephen Delia, MD

Stephen Delia, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

ScarlettSire rating for Dr. Delia:

Overall rating

Replies (3)

October 4, 2021
I'm sorry You went through this I too have experienced Issues like this. I know your pain.
October 5, 2021
So sorry you had to go through that! And no way should you have had to pay for scar revision from that doctor!
October 19, 2021
I had a similar experience and the Doctor blamed me!!
Found a new surgeon that is amazing so far!
UPDATED FROM ScarlettSire
1 month post

Update

ScarlettSire
Yesterday I received a message to call Dr. Delia to discuss my review. After reviewing my chart, Dr. Delia proceeded to apologize and ask what could have been done better. I informed him that while I thought he was a skilled surgeon, I was unhappy with the way my post operative care was handled. I informed him that had I been given the scar revision without the $2000-$3000 charge, that I'd be hard pressed to write a negative review. He apologized for the situation and explained that it may have been a problem with front of the house staff. He also told me that had he known I was unhappy, he would have waived the fees for the revision. I was very vocal about my displeasure with the scarring and was a bit confused that such a rare and significant complication wasn't initially addressed free of charge considering it's a procedure done in office under local anesthesia. A patient shouldn't have to be raging mad to have such a small procedure fee waived. It should be a courtesy to ensure patient satisfaction with their body after such an unfortunate and rare incident.

Unfortunately, this conversation did nothing to offset the financial and emotional burden I endured. I spent almost $15,000 to correct this deformity after years of indecisiveness. That being said, I hope that this conversation has a positive impact on future patients, as Dr. Delia assured me he would approach the issue differently going forward. I mentioned that potentially offering a partial refund of the surgical cost in the amount equal to the scar revision cost would be sufficient and would make the review no longer warranted.

Replies (1)

December 2, 2021
I am so sorry for what you have gone through. This is the same month that I had a lower bleph with the Dr. Delia. I was left completely hollow and also with incorrect stitching which causes constant irritation in my left eye that I am stuck with for life. My eyes look so much worse than prior to the surgery. I tried filler and it did not correct the problem. Not sure if you had any luck with getting some kind of reimbursement, but he has ghosted me and takes no ownership for his terrible job and ruining my eyes. Sounds like a pattern for him that we need to be vocal about so he does not cause this emotional distress on others. I hope your revision is successful. I've seen another qualified eye surgeon and so far, it seems my issues can't be corrected. Buyer beware. Not only is he not qualified for this work, he does not take ownership when he causes permanent damage and extreme emotional distress.
UPDATED FROM ScarlettSire
1 month post

Sutures.

ScarlettSire
I would like to point out that I've done research and asked multiple surgeons if they thought there may have been something wrong with the sutures. They have informed me that the sutures did not contribute to this wound dehiscence. I was misinformed and may have made an unfounded analysis regarding the integrity of the sutures. I'm all about factual data and admitting when you're wrong. So I'll gladly put that in writing here.

Replies (1)

November 13, 2021
I’m very sorry this happened to you, I’m going through a similar situation…would you happen to have pictures of after your wounds closed? And after you did the revision. Also what kind of revisions did they offer you?