Botched rhinoplasty mess left by 1st Workers Comp quack FIXED by Dr. Ardeshirpour at Loma Linda when Others Said Impossible

Hanahou's provider

Farhad Ardesh, MD

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

I cannot believe the confidence and caring shown by this physician, who is both an ENT AND a Certified plastic surgeon. If you want someone that will make sure you nose works as good as it looks, don' t even THINK of getting someone who is only a plastic surgeon....you will REGRET IT... He has totally restored my faith that there are still good doctors out there who will take on a difficult case, even one that won't pay the high fees such a difficult repair should command. In my case, which has ridiculous paperwork and recordkeeping demands due to the nature of how I was injured (I am a high school teacher that was beaten up and knocked out during a school hallway riot) he is only getting the low-paying workers comp fees to fix the mess a now-retired incompetent plastic surgeon left behind. My case is ridiculously hard. I know because several surgeons agreed to do it and backed out, some due to the nightmare of hoops workers comp demands, but most because the further out I got from my initial terrible surgery by Dr. Carly, the moreretracted the scar tissue became inside my nose. This continuous retraction not only lead to horrific morning nosebleeds, but made the possibility of ever being able to breath normally again a more remote possibility. The student attack and the first surgeon destroyed my looks, airway and health. Doctor Ardeshirpour patiently removed what little mangled and misaligned cartilage the overzealous and incompetent First surgeon left behind. I had a long, thin European nose prior the the break. After I was punched by the student and shattered, the first surgeon made a bad break far worse. Then, instead of just being crooked and making it difficult to breathe, my right side collapsed entirely and my scarring drew up my nostrils so that the whole thing looked freakish. It has bled almost EVERY MORNING for YEARS. That idiot even cut and rerouted nerves, WHICH compromised my sense of smell, now is all but gone, and killed the roots on my 2 front teeth, which have developed a dark grey center as the roots slowly die. Eventually, I will need caps or implants....so sad. Most doctors took one look at the aftermath of the first idiot's work and said they could or would not do it, or that nothing could be done. Others promised to help, but gave up when workers comp demanded they do extensive reports to do every little thing and demanded they cut corners. The head ENT/plastics head at UC Irvine, also very competent, promised the do the very work Dr. Ardeshirpour has now completed but gave up and stopped taking workers comp when they kept rejecting his requests or sent back only partial approvals that would only allow parts of the surgery. He refused to do less than was needed to fix me, he said. "I am sorry ...you need this but they are making it impossible, no one could get this through." I decided to give it one last shot before I abandoned workers comp and, in desperation, paid for the proceedure myself in cash with Dr. Wong at Irvine. My case manager found out Loma Linda ENTs had started taking workers comp. She initially sent me to a Loma Linda plastic surgeon, Dr. Martin, who was very nice but said he could improve the look, but that I needed functional help even more. He sent me to Dr. Ardeshirpour, whose easy manner and confidence seemed surreal after the hellish four year road I've been on. I will never forget when he walked into Jackie's office, his surgical scheduler, and said " get this in and we'll get her fixed up." I warned him he would get rejections and begged him to keep at it when that happened, as it was clear he did indeed know the degree of difficulty to make my nose work and stop bleeding and his plan mirrors that of Dr. Wong at ICU, a recognized expert in this field. It was obvious, based on what he said, he was equal or better than the head of p, Lantics and ENT at Irvine that had given up once workers comp started their bargain basement tactics. He actually LAUGHED and told me "it will be ok, don't worry about it." He left and Jackie could see I was shocked and did not believe him. She just smiled "He will get approved, he always does, he knows how to do it and what to say so they can't get away with saying no." I went home, thinking I should not get excited, since it had already happened so many times... I actually cried when within three weeks, the call came, everything went through! He has an unexpected cancellation, so rather than waiting until September, I was to be, due to the difficulty of my case, his only surgery May 3, /016. Before Dr. A worked his magic, I had planned to take $60,000 out of our own retirement fund in desperation, to pay the Irvine surgeon cash to fix what my employer should have paid. Thanks to Dr. A, I kept my retirement money in where it belongs and he repaired and replaced my destroyed cartilage, what little the first doctor didn't ruin, misalign or remove in his incompetence. Dr. A spent 10 hours just to get my nose closed after rebuilding the entire support structure using my rib bone. It has not been easy, and the excessive scarring caused by the first bad surgery caused some popped stitches in my inner nostrils. However, Dr. A had already warned me it might happen and said to just call if it did so he could assess it. So, when it happened this morning I did not freak out, I just called Jackie. Within the hour, after seeing my pictures on his cell phone on his way to perform surgery in the hills, Dr. A insisted on having me come in on his day off tomorrow to his office to stabilize me so I would not have to be seen by a resident or other doctor less skilled than he is. He assures me the second stage of a surgery I may need, using some ear cartilage to finish my complex repairs, will only be a 2 hour outpatient visit and I am confident he will do as he says, as he always does. I know many on this site are focused on appearance issues, and from what I have seen In his other patients, his results are exceptional. However, my concern is function, because losing my nose has had a huge negative impact on my health that Dr. A has already VASTLY improved. I urge you, whether you are having a facial proceedure done for purely medical reasons, like me, or because you are focused on simple aesthetic concerns, GO SEE DR. ARDESHIRPOUR. Hew was willing to take on my complex repair case and paperwork nightmare because he CARES, and in my experience on this hellish quest to be made whole since my attack, he is the first one who put my needs first and was able AND willing to do the right thing. I will be sure to upload more photos and some previous better early shots, some from before my attack, some after my first botched surgery, and some after Dr. Kikawa at UCSD recut and fixed my right eyelid scar, which the first surgeon had sewed open. I will post progress shots as I heal, but must tell you this -even swollen and with some stitch compromise due to existing scars from that first doctor's abuse. evil I already see a huge improvement with snoring and my sleep apnea, it seems GREATLY improved! Only 10 days out, and even with swelling and healing pain, the snoring is almost gone, I have enough sleep to function, and have already lost 8 pounds! I would not normally share such a personal story, but like me, you may be terrified now that you have already suffered injury at the hand of a doctor that promised to help you. Stop looking if you are anywhere nearby Loma Linda to make sure you end up with a good result, especially if some idiot Doctor the first attempt took a bad situation, like mine was, and made it 100 times worse... Good luck, and tell him the teacher, Melissa, said hello!