Arrogant, Condescending and Dismissive

Dr. Klein performed a labiaplasty on me in 2017. I had been eager to have this surgery for about 10 years and finally felt myself in a good place in my life to get it done. It was my mistake to have rushed into going with Klein Clinic in my excitement and for assuming anywhere at St Georges, Merivale would be a safe place to go. Three red flags I disregarded prior to my surgery were Dr. Klein mentioning that anyone with pain after a labiaplasty is “uptight”, the fact that he didn’t discuss with me which method he’d be using or what my opinion was or the fact he said that I could go back to work on Monday after having my surgery on the Thursday. In any case I booked in. The surgery went well however when I got home I developed a terrible radiating pain in the wound that lasted for about an hour. In that time I called the clinic asking for stronger medication as all I had was paracetamol and ibuprofen. They reluctantly provided a script for tramadole which I didn’t end up using as to my relief the intense pain subsided. After first using the bathroom one side of my labia began to do a lot worse than the other in terms of swelling. I religiously utlised the appropriate icing methods and bathed in salt as needed. The area was black by the next day which was fine and I stayed off of my feet for as long as could. I went back to work at the time recommended by Dr. Klein. Unfortunately when walking and moving I began to notice that that my sutures were being pulled apart and separation was beginning to occur. I called the clinic and the Howard’s nurse indicated that this is normal. After insisting that I felt this wasn’t normal it was agreed I could come in but not until the following day. When I arrived, Howard wasn’t present. The nurse inspected my sutures and said she doesn’t really know what to say except that I don’t want to say that your wrong. This didn’t feel nice to hear as my situation simply needed to be problem solved so that the separation didn’t get worse. I believe that because my thighs are quite close together, there wasn’t enough space for my labia in their swollen form when I walked as they would get pulled with each step I took. She even proceeded to speak of the wound to my grandmother whom had been waiting in the waiting room to drive me back home. No follow up had been booked and it was as if I was expected to manage my wound myself without any kind of guidance. I asked for a new medical certificate to provide my work so that I could try and heal the separation that had occurred. They refused and I really had to argue that it was what I needed. They said it’s not something they could justify given how long a procedure of the kind should take to heal. After about 6 weeks I was finally able to get back and see Dr. Klein. He was incredibly dismissive, pulled the “I’m the surgeon” card and tried to tell me that there was absolutely no separation even though one suture line had completely come apart. He went on about how they’ve never had a woman come back in after having this surgery. I found that interesting as if I had known beforehand that he hadn’t seen his work post op I would have thought twice about booking in however all he’d said at the time was that they perform this procedure every week. Howard was quite rough when inspecting my labia which were still very tender. When I told him so he said there is no way there is any pain whatsoever as this is healed tissue. When I left, my labia were more sore than when I went in due to the way he poked at the suture lines. It’s a hard thing to put into words, having a male surgeon standing between your legs telling you there’s nothing wrong while you try and explain over and over again why there is. It was humiliating. When I think back on it, which is quite frequently, I really wish that I had been better at making sure that I was taken seriously. As a health service provider myself I know how patients are to be treated and I was not respected, I lost my dignity and this what the cost of a surgery that I paid them to do! Right before I left, Howard did finally indicate he could see what I was talking about and that he isn’t really sure if it’s normal since he never sees his labiaplasty patients post op. He seemed to think this was because they were thoroughly happy with their surgery and said so several times. I was told at that last meeting that they wouldn’t discharge me since I was unhappy and that they’d follow up in 6 months. No such contact was ever made and I guess they assume that I am “happy” after all. I doubt I’ll be stepping foot back in that surgery even to rectify the situation. The nurse even said to me that I was their most anxious patient. It came as a shock to hear her say this as at that point I felt I had been incredibly brave and had only voiced a concern that should have been recognised. Her and Howard seem to be as bad as each other as that comment served to undermine my concerns and label it as anxiety. It has taken me a long time to finally place this review as it is hard to put my shame into words. When I think of it I feel unbearably angry. Of course I am grateful that my labia are a lot better than they had been prior to my surgery however I didn’t pay for a lot better. I paid to have this done right. The sad thing is if my concerns had been taken seriously and the clinic had worked with me to ensure a smooth recovery then my labia would likely have healed cleanly with no separation. Instead I have a piece that is hanging off and gets in the way during sex and can often become tender. The edges are also quite jagged. It seems I’ll have to have a revision however I’ll be waiting until I feel comfortable to talk about this with another surgeon and go through this experience again.