Seemingly Knowledgeable, Caring Doctor. Deeply Regret the Result. Sewell, NJ
I came out of rhinoplasty performed by Dr. Becker...
Replies (10)
Dr. Becker Messed Up My Nose Both Cosmetically and Functionally. Go Elsewhere.
So, Dr. Becker really seems like he's the expert rhinoplasty guy, revision rhinoplasty even. His website says he's "world renowned". I've long been so ashamed that I went out to improve the appearance of my nose and ended up with something far worse, that I've had a hard time admitting it or talking about it. I've read these posts here and it makes want to let it all out after all these years. As far as I can tell, Dr. Becker is oversold and has a bit to answer for. I can't tell you how long I've tried to accept and not be depressed about the way Dr. Becker fouled up my rhinoplasty - back in March 2009. I went back to him at least 3-4 times, as late as 2014 I think, years after my surgery, to try to show him what was wrong and find out if there could be a solution. My nostrils, which were once perfectly symmetrical in shape, were made two radically different shapes by Dr. Becker. You can see it easily with the naked eye, looking at me straight on, where one flares up and the other tips down, but you really see it in photos. My nasal breathing, which once was excellent, is almost nil. I can no longer sleep on my stomach, or breath through my nose during any kind of exertion, its like the upper nasal passage or the structures supporting it is so narrow or weak it immediately closes up. Oh and my nose randomly drips. That's fun. Largely, the bulbous tip of my nose remained (or else its scar tissue) but now one side is thicker than the other, and in fact a cartilage graft on one side of my upper part of my nose is set at a different pitch than the other side. My nose wasn't great before, but its a shit show now. And in photos - man I cannot even look at myself. Dr. Becker offered to do a revision (I would pay for operating costs, he'd waive his fee) and I just couldn't bring myself to entrust my face to a man who did such a poor job in the first place, despite his qualifications. When I told him how disappointed I was and what I was seeing, he tried to play dumb about the crooked nostrils - so I made him bring up my pre op pictures to prove how straight and symmetrical they were before versus how they are now. He was like, "Oh yes, they were symmetrical. But at you still have a very nice face now." When I told him later that I was having serious trouble nasal breathing, particularly during any kind of exercise (even a brisk walk) he looked at me quizzically and looked up my nose and said he couldn't see any obstruction. Which an insult to both of our intelligence. He well knows better how delicate the structure is and how easily it can be weakened. He ordered an MRI of my sinus but I was honestly too depressed to fulfill it, at this point I had lost trust, and hope. In the end, he told me the opportunity to find satisfaction should he do a revision was "small". Fine, so I'll just be out $10k (price back then) and live with this fairly clownish and previously useful breathing apparatus on my face. And I find it totally misleading that alot of his older 5 star recommendations are featured first when a ton of his poor recommendations are more recent and featured last. Not cool. And now the guy who created my breathing problem is affiliated with Penn Medicine. A different Penn rhinoplasty surgeon I saw recently to get a second opinion (finally got up the nerve to do so) asked me who did the initial surgery. I don't know if knowing who did it made a difference, but he advised me to live with it. Well, I've long been trying to just accept it. Some days I'm successful and others less so. But its hard. Dr. Becker is a nice guy and well educated. I'm sure he's helped some people. But when you look at these reviews, he's hurt some too. And when that happens, the world renowned revision rhinoplasty expert that took your $10k should offer to fix it free of cost totally, or at the very least, if that's not possible, own up to it and freaking apologize. Buyer beware. Thanks for letting me vent. Finally!
Thank you for sharing your experience. I hope you find support in the community.