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POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty Reviews

Permanently botched & scarred after rhinoplasty, neck/chin lipo & chin implant

ORIGINAL POST

Never-ending Nightmare...

I was a patient of Dr. John O'Brien's 12 years ago and I to this day, I am still suffering physically, mentally, and financially from the absolute nightmare of an experience I had. He performed a rhinoplasty, neck/chin lipo, and a chin implant. Not long after the surgery, I noticed that my nose appeared to be bulging on one side. He ended up performing another procedure to correct it, saying it was just extra scar tissue that had to be removed. However, even after the 2nd procedure, it continued to get worse, until it was apparent that the problem wasn't just a bulge on one side, it was that my nose was literally falling over to the side, picture a train falling off the tracks. That was my face. The tip of my nose no longer had enough support and was basically collapsing on my face and just hanging over to the side. It was unbearable to have to look at myself day after day. I finally had to have a revision done, though it took me SEVERAL YEARS to save up enough money to cover the cost, and I was no where even close to paying off the first surgery partly because I was misled about some of the details of the Care Credit account I had to open to cover that! So now I had doubled my debt, and doubled my monthly costs - on a teacher's salary. Speaking of teaching, part of the reason I got the surgery was to help my self-esteem before going into the lion's den which is middle school, but NOTHING is missed by those students, and instead of me having a confident and assertive demeanor, it was a constant struggle to not let everyone know how embarrassed and timid I actually felt because, due to the appearance of my nose, they said it was hard to take me seriously because I looked like SHREK, and I was called Mrs. SHREK for the entire year. Needless to say, my nose is not the only thing that is permanently scarred. So, there I was having yet ANOTHER surgery done on my nose. The doctor who performed the revision had to remove cartilage from my ear and put it in my nose to provide support and structure to the tip. The surgery came out ok. It was a HUGE improvement, but there is only so much you can do with what you have to work with, and it's clear that my nose is definitely permanently botched. It is still crooked, it still leans slightly to the side, there is still a slight "bulge" to it on the side right above my nostril, one nostril still sits lower than the other and they will never ever be even again. There will never be anything symmetrical about my nose ever again, and sadly, another revision is just not an option for me since I have now had THREE surgeries on my nose, and I would never be able to afford it anyway. My nightmare doesn't end there, however, because around the same time, I started noticing a lump in my gums that continued to grow until I eventually started seeing a blue color. I kept calling them about this until they finally said ok come in so we can look at it. Well, when they looked at it, they realized that it was the actual implant that had broken through and was sticking out of my gums! It was obviously placed wrong, but it was only poking out of my gums on one side, because it was also CROOKED! To remedy this, he did not go back in and reposition the implant correctly, he just had me come to the office where he cut the piece off that was sticking out and stitched up gums - while I was wide awake. I can still just barely feel a tiny lump at the very bottom of my gums, which the dentist also confirmed was the tip of the implant. I now have gum recession occurring along my lower teeth and I am scared to death that this big blue plastic thing is going to break through and start sticking out of my gums again! All I can say is I decided to get surgery in the first place in pursuit of increased self-confidence, but if anything, it has led to decreased confidence, extreme embarrassment, physical pain, discomfort, and near financial ruin. It was SO uncomfortable writing this review and sharing all of these humiliating details with the world, but the story is true and people deserve to hear it so they can make more informed decisions. So, yeah, one star because negative one isn't an option.

mbellacatsmith's provider

John J. O'Brien, MD

John J. O'Brien, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

4.9 | 77 Reviews
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