Still in Pain After 2 Years - Denver, CO

I first approached Dr. Imola in 2013 regarding a Septoplasty/Rhinoplasty. My goal was to have the material removed be used to fix the deviated septum. I had met with several other physicians prior and wanted to make the best and healthiest choice. I chose Dr. Imola because he seemed to be the most conservative in approach, spent time explaining the procedures and answered questions in detail. I ended up with an Otoplasty as well with that material to be used for the other procedure (it wasn't; I woke up to a letter from the cadaver donor family). He asked me to write a review soon after the surgery was complete and I wrote a very nice review. I realize now I was so swollen that everything looked symmetrical. It wasn't. The nose was crooked, an adjustment he made produced asymmetry in one nostril, an ear unfurled and flapped out, and the scars on one earlobe were so pronounced it was hard to wear earrings. He suggested a revision and conveyed 2 anesthesia options. He said the difference is, 'am I a tough nut?' Using the lighter anesthesia he attempted to fix the asymmetry, nostril and ear. Instead, he damaged all four valves and left an exposed stitch in my ear. I lived with that pain for a year. November 2015, he performed a revision to properly fix the bones, repair the damaged upper ear, and placed a small piece of tissue in the ear lobe to fix the scar and the bad volume. The tissue was from my head and he used sutures and staples to close this. I asked prior what this procedure entailed and he said it was a minor incision. It's not. It's a deep tissue wound. Everything is inflamed. So much pain that I cannot work a full day, cannot exercise, cannot function. The nose is more narrow that every discussed. Breathing is difficult. The earlobe is poorly shaped and will need to be redone again. I would be very cautious about considering him for any surgery and question what he says versus what he can actually do.

I've been on a combination of Gabapentin, Indomethacin, Advil, and/or Wholemend for years now. I still live with inflammation and lingering pain. I've had five surgeries so far. One nostril is OK. The other is collapsed. I can't smell well so I get food poisoning a couple times a year. I still need to rest in the afternoons. My life is completely different than what I had hoped for and every night I pray for the pain to go away and to be able to breath through my nose again. I'm trying to save so one day I can go to the Mayo clinic and see if they can restore function. There is little else to say until I have resolution.

I didn't die. That's the best I can say about my personal experience with Dr. Imola. I threw away the mirrors in my house and only recently found the strength to photo the results. I did find a surgeon who looked at the work, was shocked at some of the procedures, and is attempting to resolve the pain and issues. Below are a few pics of my current nose, scarring from being exposed to a known and documented allergen, a protruding stitch from Dr. Imola's resolution, and that of another surgeon who ripped out the entire series of oversized stitches and replaced them with reasonable ones to help with pain.