Worst experience with a doctor, shocked & devastated

Let me start by saying I had a revision surgery (not with Griffin) that didn’t go well in 2003, so I was entirely careful and concerned about making the right choice with my teenage daughter who has wanted rhinoplasty/septoplasty. I have been on this board almost since it’s inception and have seen and followed so many of your stories. We searched from coast to coast. There were many major names we consulted with, and then we found Dr. Griffin. We loved his photos, followed his pics and posts and met some of his patients online who were absolutely wonderful. We had to meet with him twice virtually during the pandemic. We asked for an imaging (which we got from several other doctors virtually), he said at first it wasn’t legally possible, but then conceded and sent one.
We were not entirely in love with the image as it was not clear and asked him to please do another. The second was very projected, upturned and the radix way too low for our liking. My daughter was concerned about the ‘Whoville’ look of it. I emailed him and sent an imaging that my daughter did that she liked, he said it was possible. We never expected images to be perfect, but deciding on an overall idea with your surgeon is imperative. There was still something about his online photos we kept going back to, so we decided to book surgery June 4th, 2021 expecting to agree on final plan during pre-op. I specifically asked if we were going to go over imaging with the scheduler as my daughter was still concerned about a final plan and wanted to confirm she could see imaging in person with doctor. She said, “Yes”.
We waited several months for surgery, planned, rented a VRBO, took off from work, traveled 6 hours, pre-op visit with pediatrician, pre-op tests, etc. Energy, emotion, so much agony waiting years and finally deciding to do this. You can imagine our joy and overall relief we had finally found someone.
We came to Minneapolis for the surgery 2 days in advance for pre-op meeting (which they then rescheduled for ONE day before because they decided to squeeze in another surgery).
We expected at this pre-op that like most other surgeons we would not only meet him for the first time in person, but get to go over the images so we can understand the surgical plan for the morning. Again, we had been told we WOULD. He begins to seem agitated and says that he has already emailed us two images and that we can see his results from his before and after photos online. We explained that we were hoping to go over images so we can agree on one as we never did. There are a million ways to change a nose, your surgeon should let you know what they are planning. He then proceeds to say, “I have already spent more time on you than any other patient, ever”. I almost died. We just met the man 20 minutes ago (waited an hour and a half for HIM that morning alone, his office also sent us an hour out of the way to the wrong clinic). He already mentioned this once before in an email when I asked about whether insurance covers any of the procedures, but this time floored me (should have been my first red flag. Apparently you are high maintenance if you ask about insurance).
We inquired about deprojection, grafts, nostrils, dorsal hump, etc. and really wanted an image or at least an idea of what the outcome would be. He was vague, changed his answers multiple times, awkward, mentioned we would be picky about every detail, and overall perturbed by our asking. He didn’t even have the two images he actually already DID available for us to see. Which one was he going with? It was a pre-operative meeting, what were we supposed to be doing? He seemed to insinuate that most of his clients just jump in and don’t ask many questions. We were the exception, and obviously unruly type A individuals.
We left the pre-op with no idea of what to expect the next morning, we reached out to the office about our concerns to speak to him that night- they said he would be “unavailable” but could talk for a few minutes before surgery in the morning. We both decided we had no choice but to cancel the surgery (losing $1000 in surgery center fees alone). My daughter was in absolute shock by what transpired. We were devastated after searching for years, planning, meeting, getting there, changing our schedules, paying thousands, the emotional toll of about to go through surgery and someone dismisses you. He couldn’t take 5 minutes to show a child who waited for years and was conscientious enough to see SO many doctors what her nose might look like and go over a plan the day before surgery? She felt both violated and devastated. So did I. The way he responded to me in that office was something my daughter will never forget. We sat in the car in total disbelief.
If you are looking for a surgeon who will take time with you, go over your imaging the day before you go under the knife without making you feel like you are a burden, want an image you can agree upon with your surgeon, who cares about you, treats you like you are not a hassle, thinks an hour over a year of talking to you is not too much, will not say you have “baggage” if you had previous failed rhinoplasty, and is not a part of a high volume factory- Dr. Garrett Griffin is not for you. I highly suggest a professional who invests in your happiness and takes the time to make you comfortable, no matter what.
I wrote him an incredibly lengthy email to which he responded that my daughter can come back when she’s 18 (but WITHOUT my involvement). I’m sure it’s safe to say that at any age a child is going to want her mom’s care and guidance through a permanent change to her face. She was horrified by his response. He could have called or emailed at any time and helped to easily resolve this. Any caring and compassionate professional would have realized that 5 extra minutes to make a patient comfortable before surgery, is worth it.
Your face is too important to leave it up to other people’s before and afters...and most importantly so are your morals. I’m still in shock and devastated that a doctor could actually do this to a 17 year old girl. I’m still personally trying to figure out as a mom what I did over two zoom calls that could lead him to say “I’ve already spent more time with you than any other patient ever”. What health care professional says that? I spent more time getting my hair colored than speaking to a doctor about a change to my daughters face. The last year of heartache over his inability to take 5 minutes to give someone he’s never seen in person a quick image or idea we all agree on (that most humans on earth can do in 4 minutes on Facetune) is beyond words. She has waited almost her whole life to fix this insecurity and instead has spent months now trying to understand how another human being could actually do this to someone else.
I’m happy to answer any and all questions regarding this truthful and honest experience with Dr. Griffin.