Consultation Review: A Doctor That is Worth Traveling Across the Country for

Hi to both of you! Bear with me please. :) I’ve been through a lot due to botched eyelid and a brow lift surgery (same day) and I am determined to find the right doctor this year no matter how defeated I feel after the experience I’ve been through over the 11 months since the operations. I came across an answer to a question about eyelid revision surgery written by Dr. Steinsapir several days ago. It peaked my interest and I started looking into his profile. I’m feeling very stuck and hopeless after looking on RS in the little bits of time I have outside of work hours. But, I’m on a quest to find the best surgeon for my situation. I live in Virginia and had an upper blepharoplasty and a direct brow lift last December (2017). I chose an oculoplastic surgeon with 31 years of experience and thought I had struck gold. Both surgeries were botched in different ways and I have been very depressed and saddened by the terrible results after being promised a beautiful result and believing in her so deeply. My doctor did not keep her promise to fix anything that “may go wrong” and did not refund the money she promised after we finally came to an agreement. She made me feel as if I expected too much and that I was literally wrong for feeling so disappointed and discouraged. I couldn’t believe I was being blamed when I did everything in my power to make the surgeries a success, from diligent pre to post op care and scar treatments. My entire last year has been stressful, depressing, avoiding people, avoiding sunlight, and my self-esteem is at an all-time low due to the way I look now and the way I was treated with no compassion by the surgeon who did this to me. I am at a loss on where to start getting my eyelids revised and the terrible scars from the browlift fixed. There are so many doctors to sort through, I work long days and don’t get much time off, so it’s hard to find time to research, make a decision, set up consultations, etc., and I’d been hoping to find someone closer to home because I’m terrified about something going wrong the 2nd time around. California is a long way from Virginia. However, I wish I had gone to Dr. Steinsapir to have the actual first surgery done (in hindsight) but I really thought I had found a wonderful surgeon (who turned out to be a salesperson and a phony). While I know it will be expensive to get this revised (missed work, travel time and expenses, etc.), I need to make 100% sure that I choose an excellent revision specialist. I’ve been through so much already that I’m being very careful about choosing the right surgeon.

Coming from across the country by plane, does it make sense for me to have surgery(s) that probably require follow-up visits with Dr. Steinsapir? Do you have any words of advice on proceeding forward after enduring a terrible first surgical experience? How much is the consultation fee and is it deducted from the cost of surgery? Sorry I’m probably asking for too much advice. I’m just very nervous. It’s been a very sad year. I need to move forward with confidence in a real medical professional who cares about his patients. Thank you, Mary