49, Back Pain and Low Self Esteem - Johnson City, TN

I went to Brantner for breast reduction and tummy tuck. The initial visit was good. He was very nice, upbeat, explained everything and even encouraging. He asked "if I was ready to wear a 2 piece this summer" The day after surgery I was getting ready to go for my post op visit and the drain on the left side of my abdomen came out. He said "It will be fine. Everything looks great!" One day while changing the dressing, I noticed a spot on the right side of my abdominal incision that looked questionable. It was still open, had dark places around the edges and inside. When I went to have the stitches removed I brought this to his attention. He said "That’s okay, you can continue to take showers and wash with antibacterial soap. It's more of a nuisance than anything." Have I mentioned that I am a nurse? I have worked on a med surg floor and was pretty sure this was necrotic (dying) tissue. Even though I was concerned, I followed his instructions. I did cover it when showering, didn't feel that it was good to have water that I was washing in getting into the "hole." I did clean it daily. Two weeks after surgery I developed a seroma on the left side of the abdominal incision. This was the side that the drain came out. I began running a fever so I went to see him. He said "it is just fluid" but gave me a prescription for an antibiotic. Never mentioned aspirating the seroma. I also asked him to look at the place that hadn't closed. Again he said "it's fine." Four days after that visit I woke up drenched. The seroma had opened on its own and to quote the doctor I work with "its not just draining, it's like a waterfall." I had to wear adult diapers a couple of days to be sure the fluid didn't leak through the 2 abdominal pads that I dressed it with. They had to be changed every hour on the first day. Of course the drainage lessened over time but it took 3 weeks for it to completely stop. At my next follow up visit, I again told him I was concerned about the open place in my abdominal incision and I mentioned to him that one of my breast seemed to be smaller than the other. He said "They are symmetrical. You still have a lot of swelling. It will take time for it to go away. The place on your stomach is fine, I know what I am talking about." A couple more weeks went by, the place on the right side was getting deeper and beginning to tunnel. By this time my confidence in Brantner was basically gone but I went back into the office and he finally decided it needed to be addressed. He told the staff to schedule me for a scar revision the following week. This was an in office procedure and only required numbing of the area he would be repairing. When he was finished he asked if I had any questions. I asked "Is this how my chest is going to be?" He sarcastically said "Why, aren't you happy?" I told him one breast still looked much smaller than the other. Without even looking at my breast he said "You signed a piece of paper before you had the surgery. Before I completely close, you are sat up and everyone in the operating room looks to see if you are even. It is natural for one breast to be bigger than the other." My confidence and respect for Brantner is completely gone at this point. The difference in the size of my breast IS noticeable. Noticeable enough that I wear 2 pads on the smaller side. I'm sorry but whether you are getting a reduction or implants, your breasts are no longer natural. And while I realize that it may be hard to get someone's breasts exactly the same size, they should at the very least be close. I had the breast reduction because I had been having back pain for years and had always been very self conscious about being so heavy chested. Always wearing bigger sized shirts so people wouldn't be staring. While I am thankful the back pain is gone, now I am just as self conscious about the VERY obvious size difference. I didn't go through the pain of the procedure to have it turn out this way either. I know that with any surgery there is a risk of infection. I wouldn't have had an issue with the complications of my abdominal incision IF he had at least listened to my concerns instead of blowing me off. Since my surgery I have talked to and heard of other patients of Brantners that have said how nice he was at the initial visit but after surgery they have had similar or worse experiences or complications. In each case he was very condescending to the patient and seemed very uncaring. He had commercials on TV that claimed "excellent patient care and individualized service are top priority to Dr. Brantner and his staff. Dr. Brantner strives to create a look that is both beautiful and natural." Beautiful??? If I weren't so self conscious I would include pictures. The staff was AWESOME. Very nice and friendly. As for Brantner, I would NOT recommend him to anyone!