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Upper/Lower Jaw Surgery went VERY wrong...HeLp?!

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:29 am
by MerryCherry
I am 23 years old and last June(2009) I got upper and lower jaw surgery because my orthodontist informed me this was the only solution that would permanently fix my overbite, narrow jaw, and lack of lip closure. Bare with me, this is one SHADY experience that I have gone through.

So, get braces on for a 2nd time so I can get this surgery. I met with the surgeon and he took my molds, broke them and said that he was going to "widen" my mouth b/c of my narrow jaws. So..one assumes when a doctor says something he means it and makes a plan to proceed. Well, the next appt. I come into, he totally has a different plan that he never mentioned the month before, and when I asked him about the "widening" procedure, he didn't even remember saying that. SO BIZARRE! So, flash-foward 6 months and I'm getting ready for surgery, he says he will only operate on my upper jaw, and literally the final week before surgery, he goes "Well I will have to go ahead and do the lower jaw too". Ok so stupid me thinks he knows what he is doing and I trusted his judgement.

Surgery is done. Get home and immediately I notice something was not right. My upper jaw was completely slanted and my 2 center front teeth were now moved way off center. I was freaked out by how huge my nose was. They kept saying it would get better in a few weeks. 6 week post-op appt. I tell my OS I can't breathe out of my nose, and the nurse chimes in and says she can't breathe either out of her nose and to pretty much get over it. Long story short, a host of problems have occured since then.
- Septum blocking entire right nostril ( Spent $400 on an ENT to simply tell me that)
-Nose significantly widened and tip is significantly sticking out more
-Upper gums have begun receding and inflamed, extremely painful
-Upper Jaw "canted" and midline significantly off center

So when I went back for my 12 week post-op appt. with my OS, I was hoping to get this resolved. Turns out at some point between my 6 wk and 12 wk appt. date my oral surgeon left his practice "due to medical reasons" without any warning to his patients and would not be returning.
Shady situation to say the least, esp. since I was left with no doctor except some new guy I had never met before. Found out what was wrong with him and 99% sure he had this "serious mental condition" while performing my surgery.

SO flash foward a few months, I went to a huge university hospital for a 2nd opinion and some answers, and it turns out my original OS literally placed my entire jaws(upper and lower) off center including my chin, nose and lips. One side of my face is bigger than the other and my smile is completely crooked. On top of that I now have increased salivation in my mouth and drooling/spitting constantly which the ENT said can sometimes happen with the nerves acting all haywire.

This whole thing makes me so sad/mad to even talk about but I am so glad to of found this website to know I am not alone. This new surgeon of mine just took a CT SCAN a few days ago and sent it off to Colorado to some symmetry specialist so I will know my fate in a few weeks as to what he can do to fix me. My question for you is....I will be having to pay for this out of pocket I'm sure since my insurance will surely conclude this as a pre-existing condition and not give me a damn penny to pay for this. I am angry as hell to have all these problems and am wondering about pursuing this as a lawsuit, but I am confused as to what makes a case worthy to head to trial?? I never really wanted to sue anyone but I am left at this point with little options left. I am getting discouraged though because alot of people on this website have had bad results as well and never pursued legal action, so I am worried if its even a good idea to consider or should I try to find a miraculous way to come up with $50,000?!?!

HELP! YOUNG GIRL HERE DEPRESSED AND CONFUSED!! :( :(

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 6:08 am
by PJ
I am so sorry to hear about what happened to you. I have had some, much more minor, issues and am wondering if I might end up suing someone--my braces are now off, and I have no overjet and no occlusion on my back teeth. So, I can't begin to imagine how upset you are. I think a lawsuit may be the only way to recoup your losses for the botched surgery. With the surgeon retired, I am not sure if you can get anything, but I would think he would have had to have been insured, at the time, for malpractice, so you would have to find out about that. I wish you all the best. Try not to succumb to the sadness or the anger, and focus on getting done what you need to to correct the situation. Good luck.

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 7:13 am
by chicago29
MerryCherry,

I read your story in absolute horror. I just can't believe there are doctors out there like this. While he may have had a "mental condition" that contributed to this (which is unfortunate), he had to know that practicing medicine (and something as complicated as jaw surgery) was not a good idea.

I think you absolutely need to pursue legal action. Clearly he should not have been practicing, and clearly he's left you worse off. Medical malpractice insurance is often what is called an "occurrence" policy, meaning that you can go back and make a claim as long as the doctor was covered during the time of the incident. Note that I don't know specifics and there is something called a "claims made" policy that means if he's out of practice and no longer insured, you're out of luck. I'm sure these requirements vary by state on what practicing doctors must carry.

My point is you have been wronged and I'd do whatever I could to make it right.

Also in the interest of people that come to this board to read people's stories so that they can make their own personal decision, I want to point out that many of these surgeries are successful and most people do not have "bad results". Many of us have issues and the end result isn't often "perfect" like we imagined, but that does not mean a lawsuit is warranted. In fact, very few are to the point where legal action could be a possibility. Yours very clearly is, and I encourage you to seek the justice you deserve.

Best of luck and please keep us posted, and most importantly please try and not get discouraged! This can be fixed...

Take Care
Chicago29

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 9:38 am
by AF104
It doesn't matter if the surgeon is covered by malpractice insurance or not. If he isn't then he'll have to pay any legal judgment out of pocket.

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:11 am
by Esoteric
Sorry to hear of your situation. It will make a difference as to what state you live in if you are able to sue for malpractice. Some states, like IN, have no malpractice laws. If I was in your situation I would definitely try to go after the doctor who did this to you.

Side note. I'm one of the happy ones with my results, everything has gone pretty much as planned. While it's not perfection, I like the results more every day. You'll find that most people don't feel compelled to write about how wonderful things turned out, but more so when things take a turn for the worse. You never hear some one say, man, my car is running perfectly today but you'll for sure hear if it breaks down.

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:41 pm
by HokieTay
I'm sorry. This sounds like a horrible nightmare!

First and foremost, yes you have a case. I'd get a lawyer.

Secondly, it sucks that bad things like this have to happen, but hopefully your story encourages more people to seek second opinions or question their surgeons! It's very easy to be intimidated by doctors, especially surgeons, but we as patients are paying customers and deserve to know everything they plan to do to us, or might do to us.

How much did you pay out of pocket for this surgery? Did your insurance pay any? I would start with the doctor's office and get ANY money you paid them back!

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:57 pm
by chicago29
@AF104: Technically, you're correct you could go after the provider even if they don't have malpractice insurance. However, any smart doctor will have protected any and all assets and you'll never be able to get to them. If you tried, it would take years and who knows how much in legal expenses to get what will amount to nothing in the end.

Most states require some level of malpractice insurance, and furthermore require those that don't have it to inform their patients.

I do agree with the previous post the first thing I'd do is try and get anything I paid back. I'd also call the insurance and see if they can do the same thing (assuming you had some level of insurance coverage). That's probably not possible, but I'd still check into it.

Beyond that, I'd try and be reasonable and request full surgical fees for a correct surgery, and any monies you've had to pay out of pocket for treatments and/or lost wages due to the surgery.

Doing that may avoid some of the legal crap that would go with this type of thing.

Again, best of luck to you.

-Chicago29

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:01 pm
by AF104
Well, obviously there's a lot of variables. The scenario I outlined assumes that they overlooked forming an LLC, limited partnership, corporation, etc.... If they didn't then their personal assets are protected from any suit. There are some very limited exceptions in some states though. Anyway, the person who started the thread would be best served by consulting with an attorney in their state.

Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:17 pm
by cvn
First of all, as long as you havent changed insurance providers since the surgery, I wouldn't think you'd have a problem getting money out of them as long as you have documentation from the new doctor as to the extent of the problems. It's not a pre-existing condition under the plan - it's a failed surgery. If the new guy isn't in their provider network, there may be a gap between his charges and what the insurance is willing to pay, and you have to decide if this is worth it to you or if you'd rather find another doctor in your provider network who can help you. If you have changed insurance plans than yeah, you're looking at likely some sort of pre-existing exclusion - usually you'd have to wait like 12m-24m for it to be covered, but that depends on the fine print.

We never went after the surgeons who messed up my two surgeries. For us it wasn't worth it mentally and fiscally, as the costs for that are pretty high, and so we're expending those efforts on getting it done right this (hopefully last) time. Your situation may be different, so you might as well speak to one of those lawyers who works on contingency as they won't charge you to talk to them.

Best of luck.

Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:42 am
by trish222
I'm reading your story with tears in my eyes. If you can persue legal action without letting the ordeal of it all take a toll on your health than I say take legal action. If not, focus all your attention on getting the results you want. You are a very young woman with hopefully a great support and family system to help get you through this. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:38 am
by daffodil
I would consult with a attorney in your area who does malpractice cases to see what can be done in your state. Most of them will work on a contingency basis (they don't recover unless you do --usually they get up to 1/3 of your recovery) and your consultation with them should be free. Your doctor probably would have malpractice insurance and usually the insurance company lawyers can settle claims up to a cap --so it might be possible for you to get a settlement that would at least cover the new surgery.

Re: Upper/Lower Jaw Surgery went VERY wrong...HeLp?!

Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:15 pm
by Hannah1
Merry Cherry,
I am in a similar situation, I had an upper jaw surgery and after surgery it is misaligned and off center, the tip of my nose moved to the side as well. I have seen another well known doctor that is well known in my area, and he will redo the surgery. Can you please let me know how things went with you?

Re: Upper/Lower Jaw Surgery went VERY wrong...HeLp?!

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 8:48 pm
by devlocke88
I had the same happen to me I had to have

my pallet expanded
braces for 2 years
upper and lower jaw alignment surgery
and even had a bone plate removed after surgery because he thought that would fix the burning dryness feeling on my bottom lip and jaw line

well my mouth is slanted I cant smile on 1 side my bottom gum lines have receded, I'm still having a burning feeling after 1 and a half years and my bottom lip feels so tight that I cant move it.

I believe it could be nerve damage and cant stand how I feel. I used to be very cheerfull but now I'm always moody and feel awful

I'm going to get a lawyer and hopefully get this paid for and a little extra just for all the pain I have dealt with. Boston would do a better job than this guy in maine

Re: Upper/Lower Jaw Surgery went VERY wrong...HeLp?!

Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:04 am
by NumbFace
I'm so sorry your upper and lower surgery went wrong. I'm 22 months post-op and can't feel the left hand side of my face; the tip of my nose is squint, and my smile is squint due to sensory and motor nerve damage. Most days I'm suicidal. I'm 40 years old and my job used to involve presenting in front of people. Now talking feels dreadful and I've become a hermit. This surgery - ugh - it's the pits. Again, I'm so sorry your jaw-surgery (mis)adventure took a lousy path.

Re: Upper/Lower Jaw Surgery went VERY wrong...HeLp?!

Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 12:35 pm
by StefanoMI
NumbFace wrote:I'm so sorry your upper and lower surgery went wrong. I'm 22 months post-op and can't feel the left hand side of my face; the tip of my nose is squint, and my smile is squint due to sensory and motor nerve damage. Most days I'm suicidal. I'm 40 years old and my job used to involve presenting in front of people. Now talking feels dreadful and I've become a hermit. This surgery - ugh - it's the pits. Again, I'm so sorry your jaw-surgery (mis)adventure took a lousy path.
I'm sorry to hear that but why you can't talk? I'm 2 months and a half post surgery and I still have some numbness in the left side of my chin and lower lip. I also have some stiffness in the right side of my lower lip. Hope it goes away soon.

Did your surgeon sever you nerve? My surgeon said that if the nerve wasn't severed during surgery sensation must come back before or after.