Breast implants

[pamela Ann]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I had silicone implants placed through the arm pit that lasted for 23 yrs. Finally one ruptured in the capsule but I thought it time to get new ones. I went through Dow Corning and received the grant. They were replaced with saline implants under the breast and I had a lift.
Within three months they had dropped and the scarring was horrible and the nipple was placed way to high. I had a second surgery and the same thing happened again. The Dr. said I had "thin skin" and it was causing the problem. The THIRD time she she said she came across a procedure where you insert a mesh like material that reinforces the thin area. She said she never did it before but was confident it would work. We did it in her office instead of the surgery center because she placed it just under the skin. What a mess. It was to close to the outer skin and could actually be seen as well as the sutures sticking out of the skin, one actually came through. By now the scarring, though I took great care to avoid scarring , was horrible. At this point I hadn't any choice but to have the fourth surgery this time in the surgical center and the only reason I used her was because she didn't charge me though she was going to but I still had to pay $ 2,000.00 for the facility. She reimplanted the mesh very deeply she said and removed allot of skin. It has been eight days since the surgery and I am black with bruising. The pain is almost unbearable. The swelling goes from my kneck to below my belly button. She claims this is normal because of how deeply she had to go and because of the skin she removed. Note: My silicone implants never "dropped" I nursed two children with them and they looked almost as good as the day I had gotten them at 23 yrs at the time. I NEVER had had a problem with them. Do I have reason for a mal practice suit? Thank you

 

[Austintatious]

How to get the answer to your question

Hi,

I'm an attorney in Texas who does injury and malpractice cases, so of course there will be some differences in Florida law. The good news for you is that Florida is generally more "liberal" with regards to injury cases than Texas is. For example, the statute of limitations on negligence cases in Florida is a full 4 years (in Texas, it's only 2). Also, the medical malpractice damage caps in Texas are much more severe (only $250,000 for pain and suffering, max), whereas in Florida I believe it's $500,000 for pain and suffering-related damages.

But to answer your question directly, no attorney or layperson can give you a yes or no simply based on what you've described. In any malpractice case, simply the fact that there was a bad medical outcome or that you are in pain, cannot serve as the basis for a malpractice claim. In Texas, it's required that an expert medical professional, in the same or similar field as the doctor being sued (i.e., in this case, a cosmetic surgeon), must be willing to testify that: (a) the defendant doctor fell below the standard of care in that field under the circumstances, and (b) it was that below-standard care which proximately caused your injuries and damages.

Only a doctor can make that determination. So, your best course of action is go to another cosmetic surgeon, explain the whole situation, and get a "second opinion." If that opinion is strong in terms of there being malpractice by your present doctor, then go to an attorney in Florida!

(As a general matter, I'll say that juries in Texas are less sympathetic when the malpractice occurs during elective procedures, such as cosmetic surgeries, versus other more necessary procedures).

 

[Just Blue]

Hi,

I'm an attorney in Texas who does injury and malpractice cases, so of course there will be some differences in Florida law. The good news for you is that Florida is generally more "liberal" with regards to injury cases than Texas is. For example, the statute of limitations on negligence cases in Florida is a full 4 years (in Texas, it's only 2). Also, the medical malpractice damage caps in Texas are much more severe (only $250,000 for pain and suffering, max), whereas in Florida I believe it's $500,000 for pain and suffering-related damages.

But to answer your question directly, no attorney or layperson can give you a yes or no simply based on what you've described. In any malpractice case, simply the fact that there was a bad medical outcome or that you are in pain, cannot serve as the basis for a malpractice claim. In Texas, it's required that an expert medical professional, in the same or similar field as the doctor being sued (i.e., in this case, a cosmetic surgeon), must be willing to testify that: (a) the defendant doctor fell below the standard of care in that field under the circumstances, and (b) it was that below-standard care which proximately caused your injuries and damages.

Only a doctor can make that determination. So, your best course of action is go to another cosmetic surgeon, explain the whole situation, and get a "second opinion." If that opinion is strong in terms of there being malpractice by your present doctor, then go to an attorney in Florida!

(As a general matter, I'll say that juries in Texas are less sympathetic when the malpractice occurs during elective procedures, such as cosmetic surgeries, versus other more necessary procedures).
.

The advice of a person that spams (against the TOS of the site) for clients is worthless.

 

[lya]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I had silicone implants placed through the arm pit that lasted for 23 yrs. Finally one ruptured in the capsule but I thought it time to get new ones. I went through Dow Corning and received the grant. They were replaced with saline implants under the breast and I had a lift.
Within three months they had dropped and the scarring was horrible and the nipple was placed way to high. I had a second surgery and the same thing happened again. The Dr. said I had "thin skin" and it was causing the problem. The THIRD time she she said she came across a procedure where you insert a mesh like material that reinforces the thin area. She said she never did it before but was confident it would work. We did it in her office instead of the surgery center because she placed it just under the skin. What a mess. It was to close to the outer skin and could actually be seen as well as the sutures sticking out of the skin, one actually came through. By now the scarring, though I took great care to avoid scarring , was horrible. At this point I hadn't any choice but to have the fourth surgery this time in the surgical center and the only reason I used her was because she didn't charge me though she was going to but I still had to pay $ 2,000.00 for the facility. She reimplanted the mesh very deeply she said and removed allot of skin. It has been eight days since the surgery and I am black with bruising. The pain is almost unbearable. The swelling goes from my kneck to below my belly button. She claims this is normal because of how deeply she had to go and because of the skin she removed. Note: My silicone implants never "dropped" I nursed two children with them and they looked almost as good as the day I had gotten them at 23 yrs at the time. I NEVER had had a problem with them. Do I have reason for a mal practice suit? Thank you

The black color concerns me. Bruising has characteristic colorings. After five days, the black color should be changing to a deep green. If the area is increasing as in swelling, I am concerned that bleeding may still be ongoing. Lie down and measure or have someone measure you from bedline to bedline, which is from where your back touches the bed on one side to where your back touches the bed on the other side. Monitor this daily until Monday and then get thyself in for a follow-up appointment with your surgeon or make an appointment with your PCP/GP.

I am going to step out on a limb here and assume you have large breasts, whether naturally or from the original implants, and that you are now an older woman, in your 40's or early 50's. Women of that age and with large breasts do not do as well with implants that are placed on top of the muscle. In these women, dropping and nipple misplacement are common risks associated with placing the implant on top of the muscle.

As for a medmal suit--there has to be negligence not just bad results. In addition to negligence, there has to be significant damage(s) that would equal a financial award sufficient to pay for the legal process and provide the plaintiff (you) with an adequate settlement.

Your state has caps on awards for medmal lawsuits and many attorneys turned away from medmal claims. My advice is to call a few attorneys on Monday and see what they think about the merits of your claim.

 

[ecmst12]

Your body is twice as old as it was when you got the original implants. And those probably lasted longer then they would be expected to. You can't expect your body to accept the new implants as easily as the old ones. Your skin, muscle, etc is softer and weaker then it was then. I don't see any obvious malpractice that took place. An unsuccessful outcome does not, by itself, indicate malpractice. There has to be some negligence/treatment below the standard of care.

 

[LAWMED]

You need to consult another surgeon (two surgeries ago). None of what you describe is normal. Replacing your implants should have been a breeze...the pocket is already there, well defined and requires very little work to place the new implants. Much less trauma to the tissues also. All bets are off if the original implants were not under the muscle however..
Were the original implants under the muscle? Were the new implants under the muscle? It sounds like these are above the muscle since there were 'thin skin' issues.

With the amount of swelling and discoloration and pain you describe I would be concerned that hematomas (collections of blood) have formed...they are prone to infection, and also interfere with healing. The swelling itself interferes with healing of the sensitive tissues involved here, nipple, thin skin (especially when the blood supply to the skin is questionable.

I have done anesthesia for hundreds of breast implants.....please see another..Board Certified...plastic surgeon with an excellent reputation.

 

[pamela Ann]

Update

UDATE My left breast, the only one that ever gave me any trouble swelled so painfully I couldn't stand it anymore. I went right to her office and she took me directly back to her (surgical) room and numbed me up and made a small incsion. Blood and clots came pouring out. I was hemorageing. Badly. She got a machine and sucked out 150cc of blood and clots. Yes, this sounds as gross as it was. Someone asked me my size and if they were big. No. I'm a C. I was a C+ but she took extra skin and decided to go smaller. Doesn't sound like much but it really is. The floor was covered with blood besides what she took out. She sewed and wrapped me up and sent me home. It's been three days and it's swelling again. This makes six!

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I had silicone implants placed through the arm pit that lasted for 23 yrs. Finally one ruptured in the capsule but I thought it time to get new ones. I went through Dow Corning and received the grant. They were replaced with saline implants under the breast and I had a lift.
Within three months they had dropped and the scarring was horrible and the nipple was placed way to high. I had a second surgery and the same thing happened again. The Dr. said I had "thin skin" and it was causing the problem. The THIRD time she she said she came across a procedure where you insert a mesh like material that reinforces the thin area. She said she never did it before but was confident it would work. We did it in her office instead of the surgery center because she placed it just under the skin. What a mess. It was to close to the outer skin and could actually be seen as well as the sutures sticking out of the skin, one actually came through. By now the scarring, though I took great care to avoid scarring , was horrible. At this point I hadn't any choice but to have the fourth surgery this time in the surgical center and the only reason I used her was because she didn't charge me though she was going to but I still had to pay $ 2,000.00 for the facility. She reimplanted the mesh very deeply she said and removed allot of skin. It has been eight days since the surgery and I am black with bruising. The pain is almost unbearable. The swelling goes from my kneck to below my belly button. She claims this is normal because of how deeply she had to go and because of the skin she removed. Note: My silicone implants never "dropped" I nursed two children with them and they looked almost as good as the day I had gotten them at 23 yrs at the time. I NEVER had had a problem with them. Do I have reason for a mal practice suit? Thank you

 

[LAWMED]

UDATE My left breast, the only one that ever gave me any trouble swelled so painfully I couldn't stand it anymore. I went right to her office and she took me directly back to her (surgical) room and numbed me up and made a small incsion. Blood and clots came pouring out. I was hemorageing. Badly. She got a machine and sucked out 150cc of blood and clots. Yes, this sounds as gross as it was. Someone asked me my size and if they were big. No. I'm a C. I was a C+ but she took extra skin and decided to go smaller. Doesn't sound like much but it really is. The floor was covered with blood besides what she took out. She sewed and wrapped me up and sent me home. It's been three days and it's swelling again. This makes six!

​

As I had suspected you were bleeding. And you are still bleeding. You very likely need to have an incision and drainage again. I would have expected the surgeon to have used a fiberoptic light source and/or scope to take a look through the drainage incision to determine the source of bleeding and attempt to cauterize it. A small drain is often left in place so that any further bleeding will drain to a dressing rather than begin collecting again. Bleeding at this stage is NOT normal. Are you on antibiotics? You are very susceptible to an infection at this point.Are your nipples black and blue? If they are not pink-red and do not "blanch" when touched and return to a red-pink color in a few seconds you have a serious blow flow problem to that area and the nipples are in jeopardy...and they cannot survive that way for long.

Let's review: You have been going through this for at least six months as far as i can tell. After two failed lifts you underwent a procedure the surgeon had never done before with an implantable device the surgeon had never used (the mesh). This also failed and the surgeon again performed a procedure she had never done with a device she never used. After that surgery you had considerable pain, swelling and black or blues discoloration which the surgeon said was normal for the procedure since she went "deep" and removed a lot of skin. You knew something was wrong, went to the office and the surgeon immediately drained a significant amount of blood and clots (for a reference, a C cup implant is 300-350 cc implanted in a patient starting with a flat chest...150 cc of blood was drained which would be half the volume of a c-cup breast). You are swelling again and will need at least one more procedure.

At this point you do not need legal advice regarding a malpractice claim. You need expert medical advice in the form of a second opinion from a plastic surgeon who is familiar with the use of mesh during breast lift surgery, and treatment of complications after implants and lifts. For lack of a better phrase, you will now "get what you deserve" in continuing to rely on your current surgeon. What I mean by this is, if she is treating you appropriately then she will continue to do so and your result can be no better than what it will be, if she has botched everything from the beginning she will continue to do so and you will have additional problems and the result may continue to worsen. They only choice you have to determine which is occurring before it is (more) too late, is to get a second opinion from a surgeon who you know is adept with your situation.

Your priority should be to do everything possible to make sure your are receiving appropriate care and to be proactive heading off further and more severe complications.
After you are healthy there is plenty of time for determining liability and consulting an attorney.