Cosmetic

[Crystaldp]

TN
I had juvederm (wrinkle filler) injected into my face. The right side of my nose and face swelled and broke out in horrible white heads. I also had a black eye. When I talked to the dr., he said, "I think where it went wrong is when I went back in on that side, I hit the filler I had already injected. I shouldn't have forced it." I went on vacation with 61 family members and friends, looking like a hideous creature and had to stay out of the sun. I had to buy antibiotic creams and hats. Now I have another family reunion, vacation, wedding and high school reunion in the next three weeks. How do I go about asking for my money back along with paying for my dermatologist visit, cream and hats. Should I call and ask or just show up with receipts? He is aware of the situation...I texted him pictures of my face while I was on vacation. Thanks for your help.

[ecmst12]

The swelling and bruising are going to be normal side effects of the procedure that likely would have occurred even if he had been more gentle. Are you getting better? How long has it been? You will need to see whether you are satisfied with the results once the swelling and bruising are gone.

[wyett717]

I think it's odd that a patient would text pictures to their physician.

[Crystaldp]

I texted pics because I was on vacation and he wanted to see what was going on.

Thanks for your reply emcst12, I certainly understand that swelling and bruising are normal but I looked like the elephant man. I had to tell everybody what I had done because every time someone saw me, they would panic and try to insist I find an emergency room. I knew that it was a reaction from the procedure I had done and my kids would have been devastated if I had stopped my vacation so I just stayed and did what I was told over the phone to take care of it. (no sun and ice)

[ecmst12]

Well first off you did not answer my questions.

Second of all, your doctor did explain that there would likely be swelling and bruising right? Have you ever watched Extreme Makeover? So why you would choose to have the procedure done right before your big vacation, I couldn't begin to guess. Cosmetic surgery always looks worse before it looks better. Go read the informed consent papers that you signed before the procedure.

[las365]

When I talked to the dr., he said, "I think where it went wrong is when I went back in on that side, I hit the filler I had already injected. I shouldn't have forced it."

If this is the doctor's frame of mind, it can't hurt to ask him for your money back (the hats? I don't think so.) The worst he can do is say no.

Or offer to make it up to you with free procedures. heh.

[Crystaldp]

Thank you for everyone that has taken the time to read this. I am really just looking for advice...How is the best way to go about asking for my money back? I've never asked for money back for a service. It feels awkward to call and tell him I expect my money back but I'm not sure it's appropriate to just show up with receipts.

If judging is what you enjoy, please do so to yourself. I'll welcome any sincere advice. Thank you :-)

[las365]

I was sincere in my advice, I apologize for throwing in the quip if it offended you.

The best way to ask for money back is usually to write a letter, but in this case it might be good to begin by calling the doctor and asking on the phone. The reason I suggest that is that if you write a letter, he may feel that he has to report it to his insurance carrier as a potential malpractice claim, and that just makes everything worse. Trying a rather informal approach might be a good start.

[ecmst12]

I don't think it's appropriate for you to ask for your money back at this stage. You STILL did not answer my questions. But either way it does not appear that anything way outside expected parameters has occurred and if you are ultimately satisfied with the procedure once you have fully healed, then you have got what you paid for.

As you can see here [url=http://www.juvederm.com/about_safety/side_effects.aspx]Juvéderm® (Cross-Linked Hyaluronic Acid) Side Effects: Dermal Filler ? www.JuvedermUSA.com[/url] , the side effects you are experiencing are EXTREMELY common. 90% of patients studied experienced redness and/or pain at the injection site, 86% experienced swelling, and 60% experienced bruising. So it seems that, while your doctor may believe he could have done a better job at minimizing your side effects, in reality, your side effects are completely the norm. The only thing wrong was your unrealistic expectations about how quickly you would heal.

[las365]

Just to be clear, I didn't suggest that OP ask for a refund because I think she has a viable med mal case (and I'm not sure that she thinks so, either) but based it on what she reports the doctor said about the procedure.

[Crystaldp]

Thanks las365. No, you didn't offend me at all. I'm glad you mentioned the issue with writing a letter because I did think about putting the request in writing but I don't want it to get messy. I simply want my money back since he sold me something he claimed would be discreet but in turn disfigured me for at least a week (I forgot to mention earlier that the right side of my mouth was drooping and under my eye had swollen up so I could see it out of my eye.) He admitted that he had never seen this before and it was not normal. He apologized several times.

Anyways, thanks again for your advice and letting me chatter about it.
Blessed Wishes!

[ecmst12]

IF everything heals up alright and you are satisfied in the end with your appearance (desired wrinkle filling and no permanent damage from the swelling/bruising), then I would think it reasonable to ask him to cover the cost of the additional treatment you needed (dermatologist bill and meds), since he does seem to feel he contributed to the severity of the side effects. It also seems he minimized the possibility of side effects when he obtained the informed consent - you should have read the paperwork and done a little research, but he still has a responsibility to HONESTLY explain the potential risks before beginning the procedure. You can certainly ask for all your money back if you want, but I wouldn't expect him to comply and I don't really think it's a reasonable request, IF you are happy with your looks in the end. Asking for your ADDITIONAL expenses to be reimbursed, on the other hand, very reasonable.

Now, if in the end you are NOT satisfied with the results, or you are somehow worse off then before (let's hope not!), then a full refund would be a more reasonable request.

You definitely need to give yourself a good 3-4 weeks to heal though. I had a wisdom tooth pulled about a month ago, and it took at least 3 weeks for all the swelling to be gone and the last remnants of the bruising to fade away. Warm compresses will help increase blood flow to flush the bad stuff away.

[wyett717]

You STILL haven't answered ecmst12's question...how long has it been since the surgery?

[Crystaldp]

Thanks for the advice.

The procedure was done on June 25th. The swelling has almost completely gone down. The side of my nose and cheek still have what looks like a rash but it isn't as bright red as it was. I now have lots of blackheads in the area which I hope won't continue. I have never had an acne problem before so this seems odd to me.

[ecmst12]

It is possible you are having an allergic or sensitive reaction to the material injected into your skin, or it's possible that the swelling itself caused your pores to clog. An allergic reaction would of course NOT be the fault of the doctor. Did the dermatologist have any idea what could have caused the rash/blackheads?