POSTED UNDER Eyelid Surgery Reviews
Now left in worse condition than before
ORIGINAL POST
Dr. Ridenour Ruined My Life
$30,000
Dr. Ridenour literally ruined my life. He performed a lower facelift, brow lift and lower eye blepharoplasty in early 2023 and am now left in worse condition than before I met him. I am in no way well-off financially. I’m a single mother that raised three kids on my own, but I had sagging on my neck and jowls in addition to some bags under my eyes that I was self-conscious about. I thought it was time I did something for me and took out a long-term loan to get these things fixed to feel better about myself.
However, not only are my eyes different sizes, with one drooping, they leak stretchy mucus incessantly every single day, causing me to be vision-impaired and miserable. The feeling can be described as having Vaseline covering my eyes, with liquid pouring out at the same time, requiring me to wipe them nonstop all day. Unfortunately, wiping only works for a few seconds, as the leaking is continuous. Also, it’s not as simple as wiping them because the deep troughs he created with the surgery causes the mucus to accumulate, requiring me to have to be in front of a mirror and rub a tissue or Q-tip down in the trough to remove before filling up again. My eyes are always painful and irritated. It’s not always possible to have tissues/Q-tips on hand or be in a position to wipe my eyes, leaving me unable to see at all. And because of the constant wiping, I have gotten numerous eye infections, and my vision tests show my vision declining each time.
I need to be in front of a computer full-time to do my job and it has caused serious productivity issues and missed work. And when I try to conduct meetings or have any communication with co-workers, it’s distracting and embarrassing with me having to stop every few seconds to wipe out my eyes. It often prevents me from being able to do daily tasks such as driving, household chores, yardwork, walking my dogs, etc. as I literally can’t see. Life is a blur for me. Prior to this surgery, I had almost perfect vision, only needing a 1.5 reader for small print. Every task now takes an exorbitant amount of time because of the constant stopping to clean out my eyes.
To explain how we got here, Dr. Ridenour told me in order to do the lower blepharoplasty, I would need a graft from the roof of my mouth to place in the lower eyelids. NOT ONCE did he mention any risks with this procedure, acting like it was routine, which made me feel comfortable doing it. Immediately from waking from anesthesia, I was in horrible pain in one of my eyes and told him. Nothing was done and I was sent home. The days following I remained in a lot of pain and could not open my eye at all. I kept telling the doctor that at the follow-up appointments, but he’d look and say he didn’t see anything wrong. After not getting anywhere with him, I decided to go to an optometrist after my appt. who immediately saw that the graft had a piece sticking out and was scratching my eye. I had to go back to Dr. R that same day and have a very painful procedure to fix it; three doctor visits in one day.
The worst part about this entire ordeal is that I had NO idea this could happen. Not one word was mentioned or in writing that this was a risk or possibility. I can tell you if I had an inkling this would be a potential outcome, I would have never gone through with this surgery. But Dr. R knew this was a risk because after multiple appointments and complaints, he eventually said he was aware this could happen, but the issue should go away after a year. Well, a year and a half later, not only did it not go away, it’s worse.
I reached out to Dr. R on multiple occasions after the year had passed, describing in detail what I’m going through, and he has done NOTHING to remedy the situation. Initially, he said he would perform another surgery to fix the issues, but the last few times I’ve reached out with updates he’s been unresponsive. I guess he doesn’t understand why I wouldn’t want him to do any more procedures when he’s the one that caused this nightmare, along with multiple other issues (more to come on that). I would be a fool to do that versus having an eye specialist perform the surgery. However, after feeling desperate, and knowing this may be the only chance to be normal again, I met with a renowned ophthalmologist to get a second opinion first. I was told Dr. R’s suggestions to fix were not correct and he would not recommend doing that at all. I asked the ophthalmologist if he could fix my eyes and he said he would do what he could, but there is a chance that I will have to live this way for the rest of my life. I never mentioned the eye aesthetic abnormalities, but he noticed on his own as soon as he walked in the room and said I would need that corrected also. He also said this most likely could have been prevented. That was enough validation for me to know that Dr. R should not touch my face again.
It’s unfortunate that Dr. R has left me broke and unable to do anything to fix this. This procedure cost me thousands of additional, unplanned dollars in addition to the $28,000 quote I was given. Seeing the ophthalmologist alone cost $600 in addition to optometrist appointments, medicines for infections and missed work. And another surgery would not only be expensive, but I’d have to miss more work and pay.
Here are additional negative effects of Dr. Ridenour’s work:
• I lost the love of my life who I was in a 7 ½ year relationship with because I couldn’t go to social events or vacations anymore. You can’t enjoy anything when you’re constantly miserable or unable to see or self-conscious about how you look, especially being unable to wear makeup. All I want to do is lay in bed with tissues in both eyes.
• My left eye droops
• My eyes are different sizes
• One eye has a bulging area under it while the other doesn't
• I have a bump in my skin on the left eye where the stitches were (I was told massaging it would make it go away but it hasn't)
• Due to the change in my lower eyelids, my eyelashes now grow into my eyes, requiring me to use a highly magnified mirror to pluck them. Otherwise, they poke my eyes, causing irritation.
• My eyebrows are uneven – one eyebrow is lower than the other. I must pay for Botox regularly to try and lift my brow to make the two even.
• I was left with a nickel size bald spot on my head due to stitches not done correctly.
• I have pain around my neck and ears that wakes me up at night if I sleep too long on one side, in addition to very thick and painful scars.
• I can’t wear eye makeup.
• I can’t wear my hair up.
• Usually after getting a procedure this expensive and extensive would gather compliments. I expected afterwards that I’d hear, wow, you are looking great, or something of the like, but not ONE person has ever said that. I think that’s pretty telling.
It’s truly sad that Dr. Ridenour’s greed and arrogance comes before the well-being of his patients. I couldn’t live with myself if I left someone in this condition for free, let alone take money for it.
However, not only are my eyes different sizes, with one drooping, they leak stretchy mucus incessantly every single day, causing me to be vision-impaired and miserable. The feeling can be described as having Vaseline covering my eyes, with liquid pouring out at the same time, requiring me to wipe them nonstop all day. Unfortunately, wiping only works for a few seconds, as the leaking is continuous. Also, it’s not as simple as wiping them because the deep troughs he created with the surgery causes the mucus to accumulate, requiring me to have to be in front of a mirror and rub a tissue or Q-tip down in the trough to remove before filling up again. My eyes are always painful and irritated. It’s not always possible to have tissues/Q-tips on hand or be in a position to wipe my eyes, leaving me unable to see at all. And because of the constant wiping, I have gotten numerous eye infections, and my vision tests show my vision declining each time.
I need to be in front of a computer full-time to do my job and it has caused serious productivity issues and missed work. And when I try to conduct meetings or have any communication with co-workers, it’s distracting and embarrassing with me having to stop every few seconds to wipe out my eyes. It often prevents me from being able to do daily tasks such as driving, household chores, yardwork, walking my dogs, etc. as I literally can’t see. Life is a blur for me. Prior to this surgery, I had almost perfect vision, only needing a 1.5 reader for small print. Every task now takes an exorbitant amount of time because of the constant stopping to clean out my eyes.
To explain how we got here, Dr. Ridenour told me in order to do the lower blepharoplasty, I would need a graft from the roof of my mouth to place in the lower eyelids. NOT ONCE did he mention any risks with this procedure, acting like it was routine, which made me feel comfortable doing it. Immediately from waking from anesthesia, I was in horrible pain in one of my eyes and told him. Nothing was done and I was sent home. The days following I remained in a lot of pain and could not open my eye at all. I kept telling the doctor that at the follow-up appointments, but he’d look and say he didn’t see anything wrong. After not getting anywhere with him, I decided to go to an optometrist after my appt. who immediately saw that the graft had a piece sticking out and was scratching my eye. I had to go back to Dr. R that same day and have a very painful procedure to fix it; three doctor visits in one day.
The worst part about this entire ordeal is that I had NO idea this could happen. Not one word was mentioned or in writing that this was a risk or possibility. I can tell you if I had an inkling this would be a potential outcome, I would have never gone through with this surgery. But Dr. R knew this was a risk because after multiple appointments and complaints, he eventually said he was aware this could happen, but the issue should go away after a year. Well, a year and a half later, not only did it not go away, it’s worse.
I reached out to Dr. R on multiple occasions after the year had passed, describing in detail what I’m going through, and he has done NOTHING to remedy the situation. Initially, he said he would perform another surgery to fix the issues, but the last few times I’ve reached out with updates he’s been unresponsive. I guess he doesn’t understand why I wouldn’t want him to do any more procedures when he’s the one that caused this nightmare, along with multiple other issues (more to come on that). I would be a fool to do that versus having an eye specialist perform the surgery. However, after feeling desperate, and knowing this may be the only chance to be normal again, I met with a renowned ophthalmologist to get a second opinion first. I was told Dr. R’s suggestions to fix were not correct and he would not recommend doing that at all. I asked the ophthalmologist if he could fix my eyes and he said he would do what he could, but there is a chance that I will have to live this way for the rest of my life. I never mentioned the eye aesthetic abnormalities, but he noticed on his own as soon as he walked in the room and said I would need that corrected also. He also said this most likely could have been prevented. That was enough validation for me to know that Dr. R should not touch my face again.
It’s unfortunate that Dr. R has left me broke and unable to do anything to fix this. This procedure cost me thousands of additional, unplanned dollars in addition to the $28,000 quote I was given. Seeing the ophthalmologist alone cost $600 in addition to optometrist appointments, medicines for infections and missed work. And another surgery would not only be expensive, but I’d have to miss more work and pay.
Here are additional negative effects of Dr. Ridenour’s work:
• I lost the love of my life who I was in a 7 ½ year relationship with because I couldn’t go to social events or vacations anymore. You can’t enjoy anything when you’re constantly miserable or unable to see or self-conscious about how you look, especially being unable to wear makeup. All I want to do is lay in bed with tissues in both eyes.
• My left eye droops
• My eyes are different sizes
• One eye has a bulging area under it while the other doesn't
• I have a bump in my skin on the left eye where the stitches were (I was told massaging it would make it go away but it hasn't)
• Due to the change in my lower eyelids, my eyelashes now grow into my eyes, requiring me to use a highly magnified mirror to pluck them. Otherwise, they poke my eyes, causing irritation.
• My eyebrows are uneven – one eyebrow is lower than the other. I must pay for Botox regularly to try and lift my brow to make the two even.
• I was left with a nickel size bald spot on my head due to stitches not done correctly.
• I have pain around my neck and ears that wakes me up at night if I sleep too long on one side, in addition to very thick and painful scars.
• I can’t wear eye makeup.
• I can’t wear my hair up.
• Usually after getting a procedure this expensive and extensive would gather compliments. I expected afterwards that I’d hear, wow, you are looking great, or something of the like, but not ONE person has ever said that. I think that’s pretty telling.
It’s truly sad that Dr. Ridenour’s greed and arrogance comes before the well-being of his patients. I couldn’t live with myself if I left someone in this condition for free, let alone take money for it.
Courageous240619's provider
Response from Dr. Ridenour:
Dr. Ridenour is deeply committed to ensuring the care and satisfaction of all patients. Our response here is limited to ensure HIPAA privacy but we sincerely hope that you will reach out to us directly so that we can help resolve your concerns.
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