Latera implant Suggested instead of Septo rhinoplasty ( big mistake)

I have my Latera stent put in on June 5 of 2020 at his office. My follow up appointment was two weeks later, on June 22. Surgery was done on a Friday, and the next morning I woke up with the worst sore throat I’ve ever had. I could barely swallow I did find it very coincidental that I had a stent put in my nose on Friday and had a sore throat the next morning. I figured it would get better but by Monday it was extremely painful and was blocking almost half my airway. It was as if my left tonsil was in the middle of my throat instead of on the side.


I called Dr. Barker’s office to tell him about this and I was told that this was not caused by the Latera stent and that he would prescribe antibiotics. I really wanted to be seen, but his schedule was full and The office staff told me he did have a partner but they do not like to see each other patients ( ??) . So basically Dr. Barker did not have coverage for any emergency situations( or Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)

So, I took the antibiotics but it did nothing.

I called again on June 10 (Wednesday). I wanted to be seen by Dr.Barker so he could tell me what was going on. I knew something was really wrong. I talked to his office staff and then received a very short curt return call from Dr. Barker. Unfortunately for me, Wednesdays are his surgery days and he doesn’t work on Thursdays and Fridays and has no backup. I was trying to tell him that I was leaving for a 4 day family mountain trip the next day that had been planned and looked forward to for a year and thankfully wasn’t cancelled by COVID. His comment to me was “Everybody had their vacations ruined this year, so what”. Seriously at the time I didn’t even register this, because I was in so much pain, but as you can see it’s pretty heartless especially the only reason vacation will be ruined is because he Did not see me and provide me quality standard of care. I was desperate and Since he didn’t have time to see me he said he can prescribe prednisone and antibiotics.

So as soon as I started the prednisone my throat felt better and I could swallow more easily it felt like the inflammation was down. Of course that’s what prednisone does.. decreases inflammation but doesn’t solve the issue. I had an OK time on vacation, but as soon as I finished the prednisone, everything was back in full force I can’t swallow or eat. In total I called Dr. Barker four times. He never saw me before 2 week follow up appointment. The last time I talk to him him was Wednesday the 16th and he told me the only way he could see me is if I sat in his waiting room and if he had time after surgeries he’ll see if he can see me. Also he stated that he didn’t think that I had anything significant because I didn’t sound like I have boiled potatoes In the back of my throat ( sign of peritonsiller abscess). He was abrupt, and offered no help, and seem frustrated with me for bothering him. I was pissed too because there was no way I was going to be sitting in his waiting room for hours with pain to see him.

At this point I was getting pretty irate, luckily I had my annual physical the next day on Thursday the 18th. So I decided to survive another night and go see my primary doctor. She informed me that I had a peri tonsillar abscess my white cell blood cell count was through the roof and she was not comfortable with me waiting over the weekend to Monday to see Dr. Barker because she was afraid that it would rupture....which can lead to sepsis. She was shocked to find out that Dr. Barker did not have a back up for these types of situations. She got me an emergency appointment with Dr. David Armstrong (wonderful ENT). He took one look at my throat told me I had an abscess took a syringe and pulled out about 3 to 4 mL of pus and slit the area it’s the scalpel so it will continue to drain. The pain relief was immediate! If only I knew.....I could have enjoyed the last two weeks of my life pain free if I had a competent Doctor Who actually cares about his patients and their health.

So that was my two weeks, when I went to see him Monday he did have the decency to look a little embarrassed. Anyway, I can’t believe I forgot to mention that.

I’m pretty forgiving but after all that stuff with the Latera implant and his callousness with my health and my negative and disfiguring result and THEN leaving me high and dry because it was my problem. I would not recommend him to anybody. I think he might be a talent surgeon but who knows I just know if anything goes awry he won’t be there for you. Quite honestly, there are far better plastic surgeons that have the total package Of what makes a great plastic surgeon. If I were you I would recommend keep looking. P.m. me or message me if you have any questions.

I had a rhino septoplasty in 2000 and fast forward to now, and I can't breathe out of my left nostril. I went to Dr Daniel Barker in Chattanooga and he suggested a conservative method of a Latera implant. He told me there was absolutely no risk (I should've known that was a red flag… There's always a risk).

Basically a Latera implant is a stent that they put in your nose and it's supposed to help keep your nasal passages from collapsing. The stent gets reabsorbed into your body and forms scar tissue that acts a support structure that prevents your nostrils from collapsing when you breathe in.

Well, unfortunately it didn't work for me and on top of that… I developed a huge bump on the side of my nose where the stent was inserted. My body rejected the Laterra stent and was not being reabsorbed into my body. So I have a huge bump on the side of my nose, and Dr. Barker was like oh well, and he also stated that he would not ever do a revision rhinoplasty on me because "he cannot reach my level of perfection". What!? Like I would ever get him to touch my nose again and he wasn't asked. So that's how it was left it. Obviously, if wanting to not be disfigured is an unattainable level of perfection he might need to get out the the business.