Botched crooked nose, despite having had it operated on twice

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
Dr. Zubowicz literally told me “you WILL keep your mouth shut” subsequent to the latest fiascos with both himself and his assistant Sarah, in response to my statement that I would have to leave a candid review (as a former corporate attorney in SF and NYC, never could I imagine treating anyone in a professional setting with such disrespect and unprofessionalism, nonetheless as an elderly man, to a former patient that he admitted responsibility for and failure to perform the surgeries to even his own satisfaction (nonetheless mine, as the patient, with some very fundamental mess ups detailed below). I know that Atlanta is in the south, but treating a female - or anyone for that matter - with such utter lack of common respect and decency is beyond reprehensible and out of the dark ages).
Where to even start, as I have over 2 decades of living with a botched nose after rhinoplasty #1 at age 17 with Dr. Zubowicz (my parents had picked him out - my nose looked identical after the surgery to the point that people legitimately did not believe I even had my nose operated on). He also did an open rhinoplasty, which I came to learn from top ranked NYC surgeons years later after the faulty revision (who wouldn’t go near it after what he’d done to it; we live between NYC and London) was quite strange since closed existed at the time and would not result in the same scarring.
Nevertheless, I moved to the West Coast for undergraduate university shortly after the initial rhinoplasty and had no connections remaining to Atlanta, so lived with it for the time being. Fast forward to 2008, when I was moving back to San Francisco from New Orleans, where I had lived briefly starting law school (finishing back in SF), and knew that this might be the closest distance wise that I would be to Atlanta for the foreseeable future, so contacted him regarding a revision.
I was a law school student at the time with a large amount of student loan debt, but he said that pursuant to their standard, I could have a revision if he deemed the prior surgery unsuccessful, but he could not confirm that until seeing me in person, so I must pay in full for the anesthesia and room, and it would be a total financial loss if I arrived the day prior to surgery and he did not deem a revision necessary.
Luckily, he agreed it was not visually appealing or an outcome that he would have desired, and performed the revision. We were in Atlanta for under 48 hours for the sole intention of the revision, so he assured me he would use dissolvable stitches as I could not come back in to have them removed. He did not, which led to a very painful process of having my mother (a harsh Harvard Medical School educated physician with not much of a soft touch) stab me with home scissors to cut them out after skin had grown over them, whilst visiting my parents over Christmas holidays.
My nose after this revision surgery now had a “columella" (the portion between the nostrils0 which now dropped down abnormally low (which this past year Dr. Zubowicz admitted, hence my knowing the name of this part of the nose in the first place), but more bothersome to me, was extremely visually crooked to the common eye (see attached photos).
When we moved back to NYC, I eventually met with several plastic surgeons, but none felt comfortable going near my nose “not knowing what he put in there,” or why he would have done an open rhinoplasty when closed was common at the time.
Around 2013, after no NYC plastic surgeons wanted to touch it, I contacted Dr. Zubowicz again expressing my dissatisfaction, but nothing came of it (nor were we visiting Atlanta for any reason for the foreseeable future).
Fast forward to 2021, and obviously, I still hate my nose. We now live primarily in London, but I have an investment townhouse in Savannah Georgia, which we visit for Christmases, and I planned to list it for sale.
I reached out to Dr. Zubowicz in early summer to see about finally doing the second revision, and called him on video chat from London (reasons unknown as he could not see or hear me). I stated that we would fly back to NYC for a bit briefly in September or October and would make a special trip based upon his schedule and convenience to Atlanta, just to have this finally fixed. He had seen high resolution (~40 MB photos) we took with our canon 5D mark IV and said that the columella dropped down which it should not, said it should be an easy fix, it would be easy to get me in in September or October, he would shoot over some software predictions of what it could look like post surgery (as was done when I was 17), to ensure we were on the same page.
Months pass and I repeatedly reach out about receiving the predictions and receive the run around, he’s been out of the office but will be back next week (never to hear from him), his computer is down, so on and so forth, while also receiving the run around from his infuriating assistant, Sarah (to date I do not know if Sarah was behaving so horridly throughout of her own volition, or at the explicit directions of Dr. Zubowicz).
Fall arrives and Sarah tells me that I cannot come in as planned, as Dr. Zubowicz is having knee surgery. I stated that we will happily rush to Atlanta just to see him prior to his knee surgery, but never receive any kind of reply (resend the same email many, many times). I ask when he will be seeing patients again, as clearly he won’t be out of commission forever, and we will fly from London just to have this done, as we would not be in the states at that point in time. She refuses to ever answer, so we call the office and speak to a receptionist who said he was resuming consults and surgeries in October (ie could easily schedule me).
Months pass and I express the urgency to schedule an appointment for December to Sarah (who Zubowicz had directed me to correspond and schedule with this entire time subsequent to our summer video call), as we are visiting my Savannah house for Christmas, then selling it, with no intention to be back in the states for the foreseeable future. I continue to receive only infuriating replies (I would ask when I can come in; that’s she’s failing to answer my questions - she would reply “I’m sorry you feel I’m not answering your questions” - I would say “WHAT DAYS IN DECEMBER IS HE FREE FOR A CONSULT THEN SURGERY?! You are not ANSWERING THE MOST BASIC QUESTIONS!” And receive “I’m sorry you feel I’m not answering your questions,” nothing more, never actually any reply of content.
I even had my boyfriend email her simply saying WHAT DAYS CAN WE COME SEE HIM IN DECEMBER, as we are flying to Atlanta, renting a car, getting a hotel, JUST to see him. ZERO reply.
This continues, so finally we are at my Savannah house for Christmas and after Sarah finally says sorry we can’t come in he’s booked until January, we’ve had enough - I’ve been trying to get in for half a year, was promised a September or October appointment, then never allowed to reschedule MY appointment, yet no one else has had a problem doing so, so he’s booked up UNTIL LATE JANUARY?! Mind boggling and disrespectful, nonetheless as a two time prior patient with the issue I went into surgery for decades prior still in existence.
We call and speak to someone else (i.e. not Sarah) who says we can come in the week of Christmas for a consult then do surgery the very next day. I didn’t want to spend Christmas in bandages, but ok, better than not doing it at all. We thank her profusely and schedule the appointments.
The next day, we receive an email that the appointments have been cancelled, but Dr. Zubowicz wants to have ANOTHER video call with me. We had a video call half a year prior, we had a game plan, I’ve been jerked around for the last 6+ months, yet I have no option (since no one else will go near my botched nose, understandably) but to play along.
As before, he can’t see or hear me (I’m sitting in a silent living room in the same state, but he’s elderly, so unsure why he insists on video calls). He says “well, that’s not going to happen,” about coming in for my scheduled appointment and surgery. He then acts as though we’ve never spoken or done a video call before, says how he is responsible for me as a prior patient, but he wants us to have a “harmonious relationship” and feels that it has become hostile. No sh*t! I’ve been COMPLETELY blown off for the last half plus year and treated with utter disrespect.
Nevertheless, I play nice and say that yes, I am quite frustrated as I have been trying to reschedule the appointment that we had planned on during our INITIAL video chat over half a year ago, to no avail, with no replies. He acts as though he’s not sure what happened, offers zero apologies and says he can’t speak to that, says his computer software was down for half a year (huh?! How was he doing consults with new patients?!), and says that Sarah is a nice person. I said that Sarah may well be a nice person, but I’ve been attempting to communicate with her for months and whether at his direction or her own actions, have been the lowest priority and blown off incessantly.
He at one point says how this is the first he’s heard I’m not happy with my nose - he told me (repeatedly) that he has photos I sent him in 2013 of my nose (sent after NYC surgeons did not like what he had done and did not want to go near it, sticking me with Zubowicz), SAYING IM NOT HAPPY WITH IT, so another boldfaced lie.
I also mention how my 14 year old dog recently brutally died (by a convicted felon practicing veterinary medicine in the UK0, our townhouse in Kensington was robbed of over $40k worth of just a few of my Chanel handbags (rest not being in that house at the time), so having my nose fixed could be the one silver lining to end a horrible year. He did not take that well either and said that’s a “dark outlook.”
After discussing at length that he’s too busy to see me until sometime next year (and “that luckily time is not of the essence” - it sure is for me, as I don’t plan to be back in the states (heading to the Southern Hemisphere as usual in January, Cape Town, so NOT the easy flight from London to Atlanta), and haven’t been to Atlanta since my last revision over a decade before!), but it seems he could just do it without anesthesia, in his office, as it would be an easy revision of the tip only - but then ends the call that he’ll “have to think about it.” Huh?! About WHAT?!
This obviously leaves me completely in the dark, planning to leave America in January, wanting this completed beforehand (for many additional reasons not even mentioned in this lengthy review), with the holidays upon us, so knowing good and well he won’t be getting back to me anytime soon.
Sure enough, I never hear from him. I refrain from emailing over the holidays knowing they are out of office (and not wanting to pester the kind office manager who works for Dr. Rudderman and not Dr. Zubowicz who finally scheduled me appointments Zubowicz then cancelled).
Finally after New Years I email the kind woman, Samantha (who works for Rudderman, in the office, who I’d happily have had revise my nose if they shared patients) who had made my appointment (that Zubowicz cancelled), but she is out sick for several weeks.
We are delayed getting to Cape Town due to the always torturous dog importation process for our surviving dog, so I reach out to the office about scheduling surgery before we leave. During the time I don’t hear back, my other dog dies suddenly and unexpectedly.
Days later, I attempt to make an appointment by calling in speaking to another person who works for the other doctor (as Samantha who I dealt with is still out). Just after she schedules it, I receive a call that Zubowicz says no, he wants to have yet another call. Note we had rented a car, hotel, planned to spend Christmas bandaged etc when he cancelled the time before for no legitimate reason aside from needing a one sided “harmonious relationship” - ie they can be completely unprofessional, rude, disrespectful, but I must thank them profusely for that treatment, as a former patient nonetheless, who has happily been willing to fly from across the world based upon his schedule, which I was initially told would be no problem at all, for a fall surgery.
We schedule a call, which then on the day, I’m told must be rescheduled to an earlier time, because he “can’t reschedule his other calls and appointments” - again the LOWEST priority. And this call is basically just to tell me to go f^#* myself.
At this point I said that he wants a one sided harmonious relationship, he has admitted my nose has issues that he could easily correct, no one else will go near it after what he’s done, we had surgery planned and then I’m strung along for the next 6+ months with no apologies, excuses, basic professionalism.
He at no point seems to understand anything being said, offers no apologies (though does almost accidentally and bashfully stutteringly admit I’ve been blown off, which clearly he is well aware of and has been a part of, if not the actual proponent). He literally threatened me, stating “you WILL keep your mouth shut,” when I mention a review or potential legal action. Absolutely appalling, and I can’t imagine how many other prior patients were intimidated out of writing a review about their candid experiences, who are more accustomed and submissive to such treatment.
Oh and I’m stuck with a botched crooked nose, despite having had it operated on by Zubowicz twice (it was not crooked to start with) - see photos (he also said I was being a perfectionist when it is visible to anyone and everyone, and even he pointed out the columella drops down after the revision, which it shouldn’t (and didn’t prior to surgery)).