POSTED UNDER Facial Reconstructive Surgery REVIEWS
Disappointing Experience
ORIGINAL POST
Disappointing Experience
krakovecSeptember 24, 2025
I went to Dr. Symbas for a facial flap reconstruction surgery following a significant dog bite to my face. Dr. Symbas is very kind, and I appreciated his calmness throughout the process, especially his emphasis on considering the psychological impact of my injury. However, several aspects of my experience ultimately left me dissatisfied:
Infection education & follow-up: While Dr. Symbas emphasized infection risk prior to surgery, he never expounded on what a post-op infection would look like or how it could manifest. The days after surgery, I repeatedly submitted photos of my incision to be reviewed by a medical team member and I was repeatedly told I did not have an infection. Six days after surgery at my first post-op in-person appointment, I was told that everything looked good with my incision, and there were no signs of infection. That evening, fluid began seeping from under my incision line. I sent in more photos, was again reassured it was normal, but soon after my stitches gave way, reopening my wound to about 3/4 the original size. I was pretty panicked my stitches didn't hold and made another appointment to be seen in person. I was told the reopening of the wound was simply an unfortunate consequence of how bad the initial bite was. Even at that follow up, I was never told that my wound was actually infected and that's why the stitches didn't hold. Another surgeon later made that connection that infection was the cause. Dr. Symbas stressed infection as a risk beforehand, but did not explain or acknowledge it afterward.
Wound care: Once my wound reopened, Dr. Symbas made it clear that there was nothing he could do and stated that wound care was not his specialty. He presented a very laissez-faire approach to wound care and let me know it would take 6-8 weeks for my wound to close on it's own through secondary intention. Dr. Symbas suggested I alternate keeping the wound covered for 12 hours and dry/open air/undressed for 12 hours but stated that there was really no right or wrong way to care for a wound. He did not refer me to a wound specialist, which I had to pursue on my own. The wound specialist I went to provided a completely different plan (leave the wound covered and moisturized 24/7 to minimize infection and mitigate scarring potential), and my wound fully closed within 10 days — far sooner than the 6–8 weeks I was told to expect.
Lack of follow-up: After my final post-op visit, I was told I’d receive wound-care notes by email. I never received them, nor did anyone from the office follow up to check on my healing progress.
Long-term outcome: Over three months post surgery, my cheek still has puckering at the end of the incision line that alters my facial contour. My dermatologist who is administering scar remediation treatments explained this is due to the incision not being extended far enough during the original surgery, and correction will require another procedure so my cheek can lay flat rather than poke out.
Unexpected billing: Immediately after my injury, I had reached out to multiple surgeons’ offices. Dr. Symbas office informed me that Dr. Symbas wanted to call me directly to speak to me about my injury, which he kindly did. However, I later received a bill for that initial phone call, though I was never informed beforehand it would be a paid consult. At the time, I wasn't a patient nor had I provided insurance or billing information, so the retroactive charge felt misleading.
While I appreciated Dr. Symbas’ warmth and professionalism in some respects, the lack of education on infection signs, absence of referral to wound care, lack of follow-up, surgical outcome, and billing practices left me disappointed with the overall experience.
Infection education & follow-up: While Dr. Symbas emphasized infection risk prior to surgery, he never expounded on what a post-op infection would look like or how it could manifest. The days after surgery, I repeatedly submitted photos of my incision to be reviewed by a medical team member and I was repeatedly told I did not have an infection. Six days after surgery at my first post-op in-person appointment, I was told that everything looked good with my incision, and there were no signs of infection. That evening, fluid began seeping from under my incision line. I sent in more photos, was again reassured it was normal, but soon after my stitches gave way, reopening my wound to about 3/4 the original size. I was pretty panicked my stitches didn't hold and made another appointment to be seen in person. I was told the reopening of the wound was simply an unfortunate consequence of how bad the initial bite was. Even at that follow up, I was never told that my wound was actually infected and that's why the stitches didn't hold. Another surgeon later made that connection that infection was the cause. Dr. Symbas stressed infection as a risk beforehand, but did not explain or acknowledge it afterward.
Wound care: Once my wound reopened, Dr. Symbas made it clear that there was nothing he could do and stated that wound care was not his specialty. He presented a very laissez-faire approach to wound care and let me know it would take 6-8 weeks for my wound to close on it's own through secondary intention. Dr. Symbas suggested I alternate keeping the wound covered for 12 hours and dry/open air/undressed for 12 hours but stated that there was really no right or wrong way to care for a wound. He did not refer me to a wound specialist, which I had to pursue on my own. The wound specialist I went to provided a completely different plan (leave the wound covered and moisturized 24/7 to minimize infection and mitigate scarring potential), and my wound fully closed within 10 days — far sooner than the 6–8 weeks I was told to expect.
Lack of follow-up: After my final post-op visit, I was told I’d receive wound-care notes by email. I never received them, nor did anyone from the office follow up to check on my healing progress.
Long-term outcome: Over three months post surgery, my cheek still has puckering at the end of the incision line that alters my facial contour. My dermatologist who is administering scar remediation treatments explained this is due to the incision not being extended far enough during the original surgery, and correction will require another procedure so my cheek can lay flat rather than poke out.
Unexpected billing: Immediately after my injury, I had reached out to multiple surgeons’ offices. Dr. Symbas office informed me that Dr. Symbas wanted to call me directly to speak to me about my injury, which he kindly did. However, I later received a bill for that initial phone call, though I was never informed beforehand it would be a paid consult. At the time, I wasn't a patient nor had I provided insurance or billing information, so the retroactive charge felt misleading.
While I appreciated Dr. Symbas’ warmth and professionalism in some respects, the lack of education on infection signs, absence of referral to wound care, lack of follow-up, surgical outcome, and billing practices left me disappointed with the overall experience.
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