PARALYZED the left side of my face during Buccal Fat Removal. He Cauterized the Nerve. PLEASE don't trust this man- Knoxville

Thank you! You're a sweetheart!

I am so sorry for you as I live almost the same nightmare. Constant eye pain from a negligent surgeon. Dr. John JW Lee of Bryn Mawr, PA. Awful awful man. Who removes so much fat and uses so much cautery on a 5'2 105 pound woman that it causes permanent nerve damage to her eye? Who in their right mind would agree to live in constant pain if we knew the risk of fat removal? Leave the fat and spare us a life of misery. I have asked myself why a million times...
No relief. Only when I sleep. No one can even imagine until they live it. If that's what you want to call it. I would listen to B.6074. Go to a pain specialist. I am 17 months out and it may be too late for me. Currently trying acupuncture as I like you am very health conscious but this is wearing me down. Might want to try it. It's natural and what have you got to lose? It may help you! Have you seen a neurologist? I have an appointment with a neuro ophthalmologist soon. Once again I feel for you and wish you a resolution for the pain. I pray that you find peace.

Mollygirl, I'm so sorry for your experience and you can't be more accurate "Leave the tiny bit of fat and spare us the misery" but for most it's all about the money (as I rub my fingers together).. To this day I'm researching, reading at the library, talking to everybody I possibly can within and outside the area, including churches, sending letters to important qualified ppl that I can't mention and doing everything I possibly can to find relief. Just as an FYI if you don't already know.. meditation, essential oils and certain teas can help a bit too and of course Multivitamins. Check the ingredients on your vitamins; some can be missing a vitamin or two that is much needed. Please please keep the name of the Doctor posted/updated on every site that you possibly can so it doesn't happen to anybody else. Some sites remove postings after so long, copy everything you write put it on CD's, send it to everybody you know and re-post if need to be...If a patient still chooses that doctor and something goes wrong they won't have anybody to blame but themselves. May you find relief and peace with the pain that you're enduring as well. Please know and understand that you're not in it alone. Sadly enough our family and true friends suffer along with us.

Hi. Try Lipoic acid. 300 mg per day to start and turmeric. Have been doing research for natural remedies. Also, if you haven't yet done so give oral steroids a chance. Visit to neuro ophthalmologist said I am too far out and would have been better sooner. Also she said to ice the area. Only other alternative is prescription drugs... God speed to you with feeling some relief and healing!!

I have damage to my superficial peroneal nerve (lower right leg) from a ligament reconstruction surgery. I see a Pain Management Specialist and I have spoken to countless patients through the years with similar stories. There is great hope and there are effective treatments. Generally speaking the sooner many treatments are started the more effective in the long run. And most of the improvement occurs the first couple of years. Please see an a Board Certified Anesthesiology Pain Management Specialist in addition to the neurologists. You are still in the early window of treatment and period of continued healing. Treatments used during this early period can prevent this from becoming permanent. I am not at all surprised to read that your normal female hormonal changes affects symptoms. Apparently, even when the initiating event is elective cosmetic surgery, most insurers will cover treatment. There are online support groups where you can find someone to recommend a good Pain Management doctor near where you live, if you have not asked your primary care doctor or neurologist to recommend someone.

Hi Susan, I'm currently using the triple medicated Orajel cream which contains 20% Benzocaine. I place it on with a wet gauze and paper tape because otherwise it dries up quickly and is quite clumpy. I use it only at night before bedtime. It hurts to the touch so I don't know which is worse and the Benzocaine doesn't seem to penetrate deep enough. I do know it helps some and I use paper tape to prevent irritation but it ends up somewhere else on my bed by morning!.. I just looked up some OTC lidocaine patches and don't know if that is the same that you have mentioned but if you know of anything better, I'd love to hear about it. Thank you for your suggestion. It always helps to know that some as yourself can be understanding!

Hi B.6074, I'm sorry to hear about your situation..My primary care physician did mention a Pain Management Specialist and my first thought and probably facial reaction was "Are you crazy, who do you think I am?!" Prior to all of this I only had to see a doctor for a female physical every three years. Pain management has always sounded like narcotic drug addicts. Until recently I have always been against taking any controlled substance. I am a very healthy individual that takes her diet to an extreme: At least 200 grams of great quality Protein a day, handful of multivitamins, drinks lots of water, mediatates, takes detoxification baths and sleeps at least 12 hours a day. I live a peaceful life and all my standard needs are met. My only problem is that I hurt and I can't make it go away, of course the snarly look when I speak and it's in the face. I could probably deal with it easier if it was elsewhere on my body but c'mon on the face. The nicest thing I can say is YIKES, it is literally a constant reminder. I have yet to find anybody in my same situation where the Doctor severely damaged the facial nerve, only groups for Bells Palsy. I can't help but to wonder was he that bad or people are not posting their experiences online. Yes it was an elective surgery but a lousy doctor to choose from. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with me, every little bit helps and every situation is of the utmost importance in different aspects. So again I Thank you!

There is a public misconception about who uses these pain specialists and what they do. Many Pain Management doctors prescribe narcotics. Your primary care doctor was not accusing you of being an addict. Pain Management doctors perform procedures that other specialist do not perform. Additionally, mine did my new spinal column stimulator surgery although some neurologists or orthopedic surgeons do this surgery. I also get spinal injections from him. They also typically have physical therapy, pain psychologists, occupational therapist and vocational rehab people there. (Occupational therapists are not vocational therapist, they help you figure out how to do daily tasks without increasing pain or causing unwanted damage.) We have also used various combinations of medications through the years (e.i. narcotics, NSAIDS, steroids, seizure medications, muscle relaxers, vascular dilators ,ANS agents). When a primary care doctor recommends these specialists he is not calling you an addict, he is saying the Pain Specialist can help you in ways he cannot. The pain doctors do perform random urine test to be certain patients are actually taking the narcotics and not "faking" or "exaggerating" pain in order to procure pills or patches for resale or are not taking half and selling half. I learned many relaxation exercises to help me sleep when pain is high (No, they do not always work but they sometimes do) as well as other helpful things. There is a young women here in town with whom I am a Facebook friend that has her cheek affected. She has pain as well as dermal changes on that side including blotches, thinning skin, temperature changes, blood vessel constriction, etc. I also know a women who had nerve damage from the dentist. There are long term issues that can develop in your future. I am not trying to frighten you just giving you a heads up. At a good pain center you will find your care is a "team approach" and you are a member of the team and the focus. Pain Management is up there at the top of the list with diabetes as far the degree of improvement being very dependent on the patient. However, you have to be patient because it takes trial and error to find the best medications, dosages, and schedules. It is not like when you go to the doctor and get an antibiotic and a week later you are 100% again. Daily exercises may be required for weeks before you start seeing improvement and the improvement may continue to be slow. It is hard work and the patient is expected to do this hard work while they are in pain, tired, and frequently angry for having to do it all in the first place. If not contraindicated for some reason, the pain doctor can give you a local injection at the painful area which will give you a few hours of relief that will seem a miracle and maybe include a steroid to calm things down if he thinks that would be helpful. (I asked why I could not just inject myself with the lidocaine on a regular basis like a diabetic because it looks so easy and brings remarkable results.) The point is that there are many things the Pain doctor can try that you primary care doctor cannot. When people who have pain become active addicts, they are referred for treatment for the addiction with addiction specialists. If a patient arrives on large doses of narcotics and other treatments are available that the patient has not been offered by their primary care doctor the patient is tapered off the narcotics so as not to create withdrawal while the other treatments are tried. As soon as I read your story, one of my first thoughts was that because it is your face, even when you have good pain control you have a visual reminder, especially since women more so than men attach strong emotional memories to visual cues. I am having a cosmetic repair because the long term consequences of damage to the lower leg frequently involves the upper leg and hip. My 4th hip surgery (revision replacement) brought bone and soft tissue death and left deformity. The defect is not hidden even by most heavy, loose, clothing and I do not have to be near a mirror to see it; BUT it is not on my FACE. I expect it would be emotionally worse, if it were on my face even though I would see it less frequently. I really hope you will give the idea of an Anesthesiologist with training in this kind of pain management a chance. I would make appointments with a couple of them. They can make the difference in whether you will have pain a year from today or 5 years from now.

The lidocaine patch is huge but you can cut it. It is prescription only and was suggested to me by a pain management specialist (it was an awesome suggestion she had). You can cut it to size, put the rest in a zip lock to keep it from drying out and use your paper tape to attach. You'll have to ask about wearing it overnight as it might be too strong for that. You could try the over the counter as well. I'm betting they might work better than what you are using presently. But take the other posters advice and see a pain doc, a real one

Please take her advice, it is wonderful advice and if by chance the first one does not fit your needs try another. If you don't want any kind of narcotics they won't have a problem with that just talk to them and tell them what what relief you are looking for, what's helped, what's not.

I had an MRI done after he refused treatment the second time. I live a life that no means NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT even if it takes me awhile to think it through. but I thought maybe he is a wishy washy type of person. I'm a persistent person and naturally want what I want. I asked three times he refused. I left the review and then he prescribed me the Prednisone. I can honestly say the Presnisone did nothing for me but I was glad I tried it and didn't have any regrets of "what ifs" ...After so long his word had no value to me and I say that in a calm, nice manner but at the same time he was right, chances the Prednisone would do nothing for me. He would be the one to have the experience!.. I've seen attorneys and can honestly say it's hard to find an attorney that would want to take on a small case "in their eyes" like this. They want a case where a doctor amputated the wrong leg per se, otherwise they would have to study and use their heads. It's sad but true in the State of TN. I found one and soon figured out he was in it for all the wrong reasons. Although that can be a good thing sometimes, The interested will show interest!.....I didn't want to have to work against the man as in "Dr. Steven J. Smith" but he handled it so poorly and nobody else is going to fight for me and my rights. He initially said it would take 6 weeks to recover, it's now 6 months later and I'm still in bad shape. I was paralyzed, that was devastating enough. I couldn't even flare my left nostril, it wouldn't budge. Try flaring only one nostril. It's impossible unless you have nerve damage. I have videos of that and may post them. Then I was diagnosed with synkenisis. The nerve began to grow and the pain is and still is excruciating, it was starting to look normal but the nerve has continued to grow upwards into the wrong muscle, has given me a snarly look and it's tight I have not lost my looks, only when I speak you can immediately see the snarl. I've been told quite often that I'm a beautiful girl. Just yesterday a friend told me, "Setting all things aside, I'm not "hitting " on you!, I honestly think you are one of the most gorgeous girls in the State of TN" That is very sweet! and I see how people react to me in public but what they don't realize that this pain outweighs the beauty by far Beauty has NO MEANING when you're in a situation like mine. you feel like a walking vegetable in pain. That is something very important to think about before surgery and choosing the right doctor. I cannot express it enough. (Most think beauty first I can deal with the pain later, if you're still around) Trigeminal Neuralgia is considered the suicide disease. Read up on it... Much more has happened but I cannot say it on this website but believe me if it was anything positive towards Dr. Steven J. Smith I wouldn't hesitate to mention it. I think he knows he is getting too old for what he does and therefore has gotten a much younger partner. I once reached out to his partner before I knew that he was setting up his office in the same building that Dr. Steven J. Smith owns!....I'm still fighting hard and looking at everything I can do from every angle. In Knoxville it is a "tight knit family AKA cross bred" Which is very loving! I have to go out of the area to find real help and it's okay because I intended to take the case to Nashville for the same reason. Grey's Anatomy would be the ideal place to be!!...If nothing else I want the public to know who and what Dr. Steven J. Smith is and I've had to take a huge loss to prove my innocence and to show exactly what he has done... Realself asks the Doctors to not respond because it just "Sets fire to the situation" per se. Looking at it with so many different situations and personalities I understand but Dr. Steven J. Smith has not personally talked to me about what he has done since he asked me to take my damaged nerve elsewhere. I want to put this behind me but he's done absolutely nothing but quietly work against me. I went to him for a small beauty peek and what I got was months of anguish pain and an emotional roller coaster. We are both logical beings, we don't raise our voice to one another. He has given me an unfair option and that was it. I just want to be the happy, go lucky girl I once was before this nerve damage.

Mollygirl, I'm so sorry for your experience. I never could've imagined what a damaged nerve could do to our bodies. Yes, although our bodies can do and heal amazingly but a damaged nerve requires 70% energy. I know how you feel as if though your entire life has been taken from you, as if our body is constantly begging for something we don't have. It's a sad feeling. Take very good care of yourself, eat right and do your own warranted research, meditation and peaceful thoughts. I don't know what your personal diet restrictions are; eat lots of protein. I drink lots of whey, unflavored gelatin and vitamins galore. Your B vitamins and Vitamin C is extremely important. I truly hope you get to feeling better and get the care that you deserve.

Thank you so much, I need the vibe of all the blessings I can get!

i still cannot believe this happened to you, i feel like sending him a email expressing how i feel after seeing what he did to you. This man deserves to loose his license

Hi B.6074, I'm so sorry you injured yourself on the same leg, Ouch. I can only imagine. I'm very protective of my face, it's a natural instinct. Thank you for your concerns you're a sweetheart and I hope you get to feeling better!

I am so sorry too!!! I agree, get an attorney! This is a malpractice case for sure!!!