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Category Archives: deformity

My Legal Settlement

17 Sep

Earlier today I received the following email from a regular reader here at the blog. For personal reasons, the reader has asked that they be kept anonymous.

Maria,

In your blog, you said you signed papers with your doctor not to name them.  Did you have a settlement?  Did you have the option not to settle, instead spread their name all over? Or did an attorney advice you about libel or defamation?

If you can comment without naming the doctor, much appreciated.

I have written before about how I tried to deal with the legal ramifications of what happened to me. I also wrote about the settlement that currently binds me from mentioning the name of the surgeon. HOWEVER, before I agreed to the settlement that prohibits me and my “agents” from mentioning the surgeon’s name, I wrote a few posts. Those are listed below in my response to the reader’s questions.

Dear Reader;

I am, unfortunately, also bound from talking about the terms of the settlement as well. I DID have the option not to settle. At that point I was deeply clinically depressed and traumatized. I didn’t want that person to have anything to do with my medical care any more. I would start shaking every time I had an appointment. I just wanted it to be over with so I went with the first available way out.

People keep telling me that I’m brave. This is one of those instances where I was not. I DID put up a synopsis of what happened on the Complaints Board [Editor's Note: This post has been edited on advice from my lawyer.Please visit the link for details]

I never spoke to a lawyer about defamation, but I was a journalist so I know that once I signed those papers, I am legally bound, along with my “agents”, not to reveal his name. HOWEVER, those two links were written up before the contract went into effect.

Here is where things get interesting. I just happened to notice that a person I am presuming is the doctor in question or one of the 2-3 staff members familiar with the case (aka one of his “agents”), made a brief response to my initial post on the Complaints Board. I am presuming this because of the use of the phrase “ridiculous herbal remedy’ in the response. That is FAR too personal to have been written by someone just reading entries on the complaints board.

And so, dear reader, I am going to war. For some reason I am having technical difficulties logging on and making a response to that accusation. Once I do, you all may want to stop by for a look because I can guarantee that things are going to get very, VERY interesting.

This surgeon does not know with whom he is messing. He’s about to find out.

 
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Posted by on September 17, 2011 in anchor breast lift, Anxiety, bad bedside manner, barter, breast, breast implants, breast lift, breast necrosis, cadaver skin, complications, cosmetic surgery, debridement, deformity, dehiscence, Depression, emotional healing, emotional scars, Fluid, Healing, implants, Law, Legal, malpractice, Medical, necrosis, Necrotic tissue, negligence, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Plastic Surgery Disaster, Post surgical depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, serous fluid, silicone implants, situational depression, Surgery, Surgical complications, Uncategorized, V.A.C. machine, Vacuum assisted wound closure

 

Malpractice Insurance

14 Mar

I have spoken previously about the regulations surrounding malpractice insurance in Florida. According to what I have experienced, a plastic surgeon is only required to carry $100,000 in malpractice insurance. If you have to end up suing your plastic surgeon, there are a few factors to consider.

First, the legal fees have to come out of that $100,000. It can take a very long time for your lawyer to research your case. Surgical records have to be pulled and analyzed along with any other pertinent health records.

Second: It can be extraordinarily difficult to prove malpractice took place so there is a decent chance you may not win.

Third: If you DO win, there probably won’t be enough left to cover reconstruction surgery. My reconstruction (just the mounds) and hospital fees cost about $30,000. My nipple reconstruction and revision surgery will be another $10,000 in round numbers.

With the current economy, surgical financing in any decent amount is nearly impossible to come by. So there is every chance that you will have to pay for your reconstruction out of pocket if it is not related to breast cancer.

This regulation needs to be reconsidered. $100,000 is simply not enough money to pay the lawyer AND the doctor.

 
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Posted by on March 14, 2010 in bad bedside manner, complications, cosmetic surgery, deformity, emotional healing, Insurance, Law, Legal, malpractice, negligence, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Surgery, Surgical complications, Uncategorized

 

Topless

02 Feb

I’ve done the research and I think I’ll be trying this idea out at a local level. Maybe at Daytona Beach first. According to local ordinance in New Orleans, lewd behavior constitutes exposing their genitals, have sex, masturbating, urinating or defecating in public.

The reason I state the local New Orleans law is that I have been considering going topless ever since I got the new Twins. I’m currently investigating what, specifically, constitutes genitalia. Of course there is the obvious penis and vagina. When it comes to women, is it JUST the nipple? Is it the nipple and areolae? How MUCH of the breast can be exposed without falling into the “lewd’ category?

Since I don’t have nipples or areolae, CAN I get away with going topless in public? The woman in this photo was at a “Naked Bike Ride” and did not get arrested.

None of the (nearly) naked people during World Naked Bike Day were arrested. Of course you can tell by looking closely that nothing is showing. So the question becomes this: if I don’t have anything that needs to be covered, do I still have to cover the place where they would be?

I’ve contacted the Daytona Beach police department since this is going to be my test area. I’ll put up an update when I get an answer. And of course, I’ll be announcing my topless adventure when I do it.

UPDATE:When I talked to my DH about going topless last night, he asked an important question. That question being “Why?”. It occurred to me that many readers are probably asking the same question.

It has always been my intention in writing BoobCast to be a support system for other women who have gone through botched plastic surgery. One of the  biggest issues I had was not feeling as though I were “normal”. Since I still don’t have nipples and areolae, I’m still not “normal”.

By going topless I want to be a visual example to others that it’s okay to be “in process”. Most importantly, it’s okay to go out in public WHILE you’re in process.

I felt SO self conscious before my breast reconstruction that I didn’t really enjoy being in public much. I was convinced that everyone could see how deformed I was no matter how baggy my clothes were.

It’s also an opportunity to talk about BoobCast and what can happen when plastic surgery goes wrong.

 
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Posted by on February 2, 2010 in anchor breast lift, boob job, breast, breast health, breast implants, breast lift, breast reconstruction, complications, cosmetic surgery, deformity, emotional healing, emotional scars, Latissimus flap, latissimus flap reconstruction, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Plastic Surgery Disaster, Reconstruction, Recovery, Surgery, Surgical complications, Uncategorized

 

Clothes Shopping-A BoobCast Flashback

31 Jan

Originally written on Oct. 26, 2009

This is another one of those issues that comes with being mostly boob-less.  Clothes shopping is frustrating.  I feel more comfortable in the Men’s section than the Women’s. The women’s section, even if there is no one else there, is a constant reminder of what I don’t have.

It’s also more difficult to find clothes that fit. Anything that fits tightly across the chest shows the outline of my deformity. And lets face it, most women’s clothing is geared to fit close to the body and accentuate our breasts. Even the camisoles with foam cups give a minor indication that something isn’t quite right because  of how the cups move since they’re not filled with breast tissue.

The men’s section offers a better selection of loose-fitting clothes. So I shop at Goodwill because I know that when this is over I can take the clothes back and donate them again. Someone else will be able to get use out of them when it’s all done.

Aside from this mangled thing that once was my chest, I think that shopping in the men’s section is one more reason I just don’t feel feminine. (see other Girly Girl posts).

Now in the movie “Dogma” the character called the Muse talked about how what defines a woman falls between two things…her legs. From a biological standpoint that IS true. Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina, after all. From a societal standpoint, however, women are judged by their breasts. If I don’t have breasts, am I still really a woman?

Breast cancer patients go through the same thing WHILE fighting a disease that could kill them. That’s why I can’t begin to compare myself to a breast cancer survivor. Not in the physical sense anyway. Mentally we go through much of the same thing. We question if we’re still actually women. We feel diminished; as though we’re somehow not fully human and wonder how our partners will EVER find us attractive again.

Yes, that complicated ball of emotions comes with clothes shopping. In the men’s section.

 
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Posted by on January 31, 2010 in anchor breast lift, Anxiety, boob job, breast, breast cancer, breast lift, breast size, breast volume, chemotherapy, complications, cosmetic surgery, deformity, Depression, emotional healing, emotional scars, Flashbacks, implants, mastopexy, necrosis, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Plastic Surgery Disaster, Post surgical depression, Surgical complications, Uncategorized

 

Bounce

21 Jan

I know that many of you are still up to your hip pockets in snow or freezing your assets off. Here in central Florida, it’s 81 degrees. Trust me. This IS relevant and it’s not (just) gloating.

Since it’s so warm I put on my favorite cami with a shelf bra. As I turned towards the mirror, I noticed that, thanks to the Twins, I have a distinct bounce in my step. So I raised myself up on my toes and experimented with a few tentative bounces.

I was mesmerized. For a good five minutes I watched the Twins spring up and down in a steady rhythm. And then I started to laugh. And cry. At the same time.

I am so grateful and SO relieved that there were minimal complications. Now even months later I am still occasionally overwhelmed by the simple fact that I have breasts instead of the magled wreckage I dealt with for so long.

If anyone wants to see a video of the bounce, let me know. I’d love to put one up.

 
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Posted by on January 21, 2010 in boob job, breast, breast reconstruction, cosmetic surgery, deformity, emotional healing, emotional scars, Healing, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Plastic Surgery Disaster, Reconstruction, Recovery, Surgery, Surgical complications, Uncategorized

 

The 200th Post

18 Jan

As the title says, this is the 200th installment of BoobCast. Today I am writing about you, dear reader. Today’s installment is all about the support and the stories that people have shared with me since I first started this blog on Oct. 11, 2008.

When I first started writing this, I was also fairly active on a website called All About Plastic Surgery (http://www.allaboutplasticsurgery.com). When I posted what had happened to me it didn’t take long before I was inundated by questions about various aspects of the surgery. You can find that entry here: http://boobcast.net/2008/10/14/questions/ People expressed a great deal of concern about how well I had checked out the surgeon, what indications I might have had and what legal recourse I might have taken. During that period so many people gave their support and I am grateful for it. So my thanks goes out to the women of the All About Plastic Surgery forum. They were the ones who inspired the idea for BoobCast.

Now you’re probably asking yourself, “Gee Maria, why do you call it BoobCast? Were they wrapped in plaster or something at one point?”

No, dear reader. There are reasons this site is called BoobCast.  In 2007 the podcasting community lost a precious member by the name of Joe Murphy. He died of a vicious type of cancer that took him quickly. During his medical treatments he talked in vivid detail about what was going on, the testing and all of it. His strength inspired me. I wanted to be as strong and as brave as Joe Murphy. So I planned to podcast what was going on with my breast necrosis. The name of that podcast was going to be BoobCast.

I never met Joe but his life inspired me. It just turns out that I’m not that strong or that brave. To honor that bravery I have kept the name.

I also owe thanks to a very dear friend, Tee Morris. When I was trying to find the strength to create BoobCast, He was there for me. He gave me mental and emotional support by letting me know that I *could* do it. I’m sorry I disapointed you Tee but want to thank you for being a friend when I needed one.

In the time I’ve been writing BoobCast I have had people email me directly for advice. Of course, after reading the email, my advice was always “Contact your PS (plastic surgeon) and ask for [fill-in-the-blank]. Whether it was about bruising, skin texture or pain, I advised talking to their doctor. If they couldn’t get a decent answer from that doctor, talk to another one.

The one that really broke my heart was the husband of a woman who, a few days previous the email,  had the same procedure I had. According to her husband, the pain pills her PS had given her weren’t doing much and she was in constant pain. She couldn’t eat or sleep and she was suffering. I told her husband to call her PS immediately and insist on different pain meds and not take NO for an answer. i explained that, right now it was his job to advocate for his wife since she couldn’t do it herself.

A couple days later I got an email from him saying that her PS had changed her meds and she was doing MUCH better. It’s emails like those that made BoobCast well worth the emotional pain of writing those early posts.

I also want to thank everyone who talked to me about BoobCast at DragonCon last year. Being told in person that I’m making a difference means the world to me. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

Finally, my thanks to Carol Montoya, Lolly Daskal and the Woman At Denny’s. I promise that once I’ve had nipple reconstruction and recuperate from that, I WILL write the book. The foundation is in the works already.

My thanks to you all for reading, commenting and talking to me. Here’s to another 200!

 
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Posted by on January 18, 2010 in anchor breast lift, Anxiety, barter, boob job, Bra Fitting, bra sizes, Bras, breast, breast cancer, breast health, breast implants, breast lift, breast reconstruction, breast size, breast volume, Cash fees, checkup, chemotherapy chemical, clogged surgical drains, communication, complications, compression bra, compression dressing, cortisone, cosmetic surgery, cryotherapy, debreiding, debridement, deformity, dehiscence, Depression, Drain, Drugs, emotional healing, emotional scars, Excise, excise fluid, fear, Flashbacks, flourouracil, Fluid, granular tissue, granulation tissue, Healing, Hospital, Hospital fees, Hosptial Costs, implants, Incisions, Infection, Insurance, interferon, Invisibility, keloid, keloid scars, laser, Latissimus flap, latissimus flap reconstruction, malpractice, mammogram, mastopexy, Medical, Medical Insurance, memory, Nausea, necrosis, negligence, Nipple prosthetics, Nipple reconstruction, Nipples, Pain, Pain Management, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Plastic Surgery Disaster, podcast, Post surgical depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Prescription Drug Addiction, Prosthetics, PTSD, radiation, Reconstruction, Recovery, Scars, Seroma, serous fluid, Sex, silicone sheets, situational depression, Sleep, slow healing, suicide, Surgery, Surgical complications, Surgical drains, Surgical Fees, Ta Ta Tuesday, Uncategorized, V.A.C. machine, Vacuum assisted wound closure, wet to dry bandages, wheelchair

 

Confirmation

15 Nov

This afternoon I was talking to a woman about BoobCast and what I have endured in my journey. What she told me didn’t really surprise me. It saddened me to no end though.

Her mother, a 70-year-old breast cancer survivor with bilateral mastectomy, developed necrosis after her TRAM flap breast reconstruction. Please follow this link (http://bit.ly/17vGa6) to learn more about this type of reconstruction).

My understanding is that even though many surgeons downplay the risk of necrosis, it still happens much more frequently than we are led to believe. The woman in question, we’ll call her Mom, has said that she doesn’t want to undergo any more surgery.

I don’t blame her for that. Especially not at her age. It just saddens me that she will  live with the results of what the necrosis has done to her. Of course she will probably not talk about it and that will be one more woman suffering in silence because she was not given accurate information about the risks of the surgery she was undergoing.

This MAY not be the fault of her plastic surgeon. Sadly, sometimes necrosis occurs through no fault of the surgeon. Mind you the following opinion comes from the Hack in question (HiQ). He said “Sometimes these things just happen and no one knows why”. I need to investigate if that actually holds truth or if it was some kind of sick, twisted cop out.

So this is going to be one more thing I need to add to my To Do list: Research statistics for breast reconstruction and plastic surgery complications. I REALLY think it is much more wide spread than is being reported.

 
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Posted by on November 15, 2009 in breast necrosis, breast reconstruction, complication statistics, complications, deformity, Uncategorized

 

Keloid Scars

30 Sep

I may I have covered this topic before but not as it applied to me, personally. I noticed something last night after I took off my bra. There is a two to three inch area on the underside of each of my new breasts that has some keloid scarring. These spots didn’t have tape on them consistently as they are furthest out towards my sides and the tape kept coming off there.

Imagine if skin could simmer like water and then be frozen in that state. That’s what keloid scars look like. Here’s a photo of keloid scars on someone’s chest.

keloid_3_060802Doctors do not understand exactly why keloids form in certain people or situations and not in others. Changes in the cellular signals that control growth and proliferation could be related to the process of keloid formation, but these changes have not yet been characterized scientifically.

The methods now available to treat keloids are:

  • Cortisone injections (intralesional steroids): These are safe and not very painful. Injections are usually given once per month until the maximum benefit is obtained. Injections are safe (very little steroid gets into the bloodstream) and usually help flatten keloids; however, steroid injections can also make the flattened keloid redder by stimulating the formation of more superficial blood vessels. (These can be treated using a laser; see below.) The keloid may look better after treatment than it looked to start with, but even the best results leave a mark that looks and feels quite different from the surrounding skin.
  • Surgery: This is risky, because cutting a keloid can trigger the formation of a similar or even larger keloid. Some surgeons achieve success by injecting steroids or applying pressure dressings to the wound site after cutting away the keloid. Radiation after surgical excision has also been used.
  • Laser: The pulsed-dye laser can be effective at flattening keloids and making them look less red. Treatment is safe and not very painful, but several treatment sessions may be needed. These may be costly, since such treatments are not generally covered by insurance plans.
  • Silicone sheets: This involves wearing a sheet of silicone gel on the affected area for several hours a day for weeks or months, which is hard to sustain. Results are variable. Some doctors claim similar success with compression dressings made from materials other than silicone.
  • Cryotherapy: Freezing keloids with liquid nitrogen may flatten them but often darkens the site of treatment.
  • Interferon: Interferons are proteins produced by the body’s immune systems that help fight off viruses, bacteria, and other challenges. In recent studies, injections of interferon have shown promise in reducing the size of keloids, though it’s not yet certain whether that effect will be lasting. Current research is underway using a variant of this method, applying topical imiquimod (Aldara), which stimulates the body to produce interferon.
  • Fluorouracil: Injections of this chemotherapy agent, alone or together with steroids, have been used as well for treatment of keloids.
  • Radiation: Some doctors have reported safe and effective use of radiation to treat keloids.

This is not a very common complication, but it can happen. There doesn’t seem to be a bias. It happens equally in men and women as well as all ethnicities.

 
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Posted by on September 30, 2009 in boob job, breast, breast reconstruction, chemotherapy chemical, cortisone, cosmetic surgery, cryotherapy, deformity, flourouracil, Healing, Incisions, interferon, keloid, keloid scars, laser, latissimus flap reconstruction, Medical, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, radiation, Reconstruction, Recovery, Scars, silicone sheets, slow healing, Surgical complications, Uncategorized

 

Complexus Inferioritus

10 Aug

Today marks a fresh start for the BoobCast blog. It may be occasionally sprinkled with updates on my current status but for the most part I’ll be talking in detail about why I had the initial breast augmentation and lift. I’ll also add much more in-depth detail to what happened to me and why it may have happened.

Today I’m going to talk about the reasons I had the surgery done in the first place.

I was always pretty socially awkward in high school. I was about 20 pounds overweight, only a couple friends, unpopular and an easy target because I had absolutely no self esteem. Add to that, when I went in for a bra fitting, the sales woman told me I had tubular breasts. I had absolutely no idea what that meant and at 16 was too embarrassed to ask.

This is what tubular breasts look like: http://tinyurl.com/mp3cwv

Fast forward 10 years, add breast feeding two kids and gravity and I REALLY hated my breasts. They weren’t pretty. They were just a couple of hanging flaps of skin. Add to that my nipples were so overly sensitive that if my partners tried to stimulate them, I was hanging from the ceiling because it was just too much sensation.

It was about that time that I became determined that by the time I was 40 I would have beautiful breasts. It wasn’t always at the forefront of my mind but the idea sat in the back of my mind and became cemented. Every time I went bra shopping the notion that my breasts were horrible and I needed a boob job became more and more firmly cemented in my mind.

At 39 I became completely obsessed with the idea that I HAD to get something done. I started researching plastic surgeons in the area. It took me about six months before I finally decided on one locally. So I made an appointment for a consultation.

With everything else that had been going on with major family issues , school and the business, I finally went to an appointment in the spring of my 40th year.

After taking a look at my breasts, it was announced that I had degraded as far as I could and it wasn’t going to get any worse. This article explains the Gurley Stages of Breast Regression http://tinyurl.com/2d3ds3 and I was a Gurley Stage II

The doctor used a different scale but I am unable to find it. It basically amounts to how big your areolaes are and how much droop you have. Mine were the size of Coke bottle bottoms and my nipples pointed at the floor. So I was told I would need a breast lift to make them look perkier and an implant to replace the volume I had lost from breast feeding and age.

She put a VHS tape in that explained the anchor lift procedure and left me alone to watch it. Please look here for a diagram and description of a full (anchor) mastopexy:   http://tinyurl.com/ku5wy5

I will continue this tomorrow since this post is running long.

 
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Posted by on August 10, 2009 in anchor breast lift, Anxiety, boob job, breast, breast size, breast volume, cosmetic surgery, deformity, Depression, Incisions, mastopexy, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Uncategorized

 

Choices To Be Made

06 Aug

I’ve been writing this blog for almost 150 entries now and I’ve noticed a few things. First, I get higher reader numbers when my posts have titles like: X-Rated or Boobie Boggles. Hell, that second one got the highest readership numbers yet. Second, I get more inquiries from the medically-based posts that I do.

When I talk about my experiences with the variety of issues I’ve had between the augment and lift and the reconstruction, I get more genuine questions and actual sharing of information. So with this in mind I’ve come to a conclusion.

Screw that. I’m sick of trying to get readers by luring them in with titillating titles (no pun intended). I’m just going to talk about what’s going on, what I’ve gone through and the things I’ve experienced. THAT is what helps people. If I happen to grow my readership, great. If I don’t, I’ll be sad that I’m not getting information out to more people.

I’m just not going to bend over backwards anymore trying to expand my readership the cheap, superficial way.

With that in mind, I will be going back to the beginning. I’m going to start filling in the HUGE gaps in my story. Starting Monday August 10th, BoobCast gets a do-over. I plan to start with the reason behind my initial desire to have the breast augmentation and lift.

I’ll talk about the appointments I went on, how plastic surgeons grade breast degradation and all my initial preparations. I’ll be adding more links to relevant medical sites and I’ll be putting up some photos, with the appropriate warnings and cautions when that time comes.

 
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Posted by on August 6, 2009 in boob job, breast, breast implants, breast reconstruction, breast size, breast volume, complications, cosmetic surgery, deformity, implants, Nipple reconstruction, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, Plastic Surgery Disaster, Reconstruction, Recovery, Surgery, Surgical complications, Uncategorized

 
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