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32 Months since surgery ruined my life and permanently harmed me
Friday marked 32 months since a doctor that was heavily featured/promoted on this website severely harmed me and ruined my life. Tomorrow we have Thanksgiving here in Canada and just like the past 3 years I cannot find a single thing to be thankful for and periods like this often have me reflect on the trauma and the fact that a third year is going by and I’m still messed up for life.
32 Months ago a doctor by the name of Dr. Brown who ran his marketing website “sportshernia.com” and heavily used these forums to find patients operated on me and bilaterally cut out a 4 inch long flap off my external oblique aponeurosis effectively cutting a chunk out of what is otherwise one solid structure and then sutured the remainder of my aponeurosis on top of that flap. By doing so he effectively separated the external oblique aponeurosis from its lateral origin (the inguinal ligament) and released the entire structure and by extension my entire core.
This caused a complete release and atrophy of my external obliques and severe core weakness, sexual weakness, ejaculatory weakness, sphincter weakness (my sphincters are no longer under tension if I have to go to the bathroom or have gas it just shoots out of me), severe hip flexor weakness which caused hip & knee issues as well as permanent muscle spams of every muscle on my legs & visibly and permanently altered my physique. Being that I was a professional dancer I lost my career of 12 years since I both look completely messed up but also have no core function and therefore lost all my athletic ability.
In 90 minutes this man nullified my entire career and adult life. Tens of thousands of hours of training and sacrifice down the drain so that a shitty dishonest doctor could make a couple thousand bucks.
I have seen 5 different specialists since this happened to me – most of which were interviewed on this website as well. One of them heavily hinted at a lawsuit that would go heavily in my favor – something I’m just not interested in – I barely have the emotional bandwidth to keep myself alive I don’t have anything left to be vengeful and chase an old senile man who did this exact thing to 10+ patients. One doctor had no idea what he was looking at and couldn’t understand how my core could completely collapse if someone cuts out a 4 inch piece out of what is one continuous structure and detaches it from its origin (this person runs a clinic specialized on core issues by the way..the irony).
One of them (Dr. Krpata from the Cleveland Clinic) said that he can’t even begin to comprehend how my spermatic cord can currently be free-floating directly under my skin and no longer be in the inguinal canal. He couldn’t wrap his mind around how its anatomically possible which shows you just how barbaric what Dr. Brown did to me is.
All this to say – do not get surgery people. It is not worth it. I was a healthy, **extremely** conditioned professional dancer with rock solid abs and an overuse injury. Despite asking for all the reassurances possible before agreeing to surgery I was lied to, deceived, and ultimately mutilated.
I used to look at doctors as this honorable profession and group of people that wanted to help save people and heal them but just like the police force it seems that nowadays there are more bad apples motivated by greed and money than there are genuine good doctors who care. As a patient you have no recourse, no guarantees and none of these doctors are ever held accountable.
I recently read a quote that said “Our purpose in life is to help others. If you can’t help them then at least don’t hurt them”. Not only did Dr. Brown not help me but he harmed me beyond anything I thought was possible for personal gain.
So here I am, 32 months later. If I didn’t have a family I would be homeless. I have nowhere to turn, nobody to ask help. There are no doctors left to help me. The 5 people I spoke to had no idea what to do with this or how to help me and the one that said that he could try something (Dr. Krpata) said that I risk losing my testicle and obviously there’s the risk of additional damage, nerve damage and scar tissue. Its truly a nightmare.
Despite my best effort I have made zero physical progress because *shocker* you cannot rehabilitate a tissue that was detached from its origin and not reattached/closed back whole.
I can’t think of many things that make you feel less like a man than not being to have a proper erection/ejaculation, not being to lift anything or even go for a run. I went from having a rock solid 6 pack to being ashamed of taking my shirt off in front of myself.I hope everyone who reads this/hangs around on these forums finds the help they need one day and that you guys stay safe. I don’t know that there are many honest and genuinely good-intentioned doctors in this field sadly. I lived my whole life trying to make other people’s lives better, teaching kids etc and when I needed help I was taken advantage of and mutilated for a few dollars. Please don’t end up like me.
Sincerely,
Peter
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This discussion was modified 2 years ago by
PeterC.
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This discussion was modified 2 years ago by
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9 Replies
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can we perhaps surmise that, if previously successful, Dr. Brown lost his wit in old age
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What kind of hernia did you have? Do you know what technique was used in your surgery?
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PeterC, sorry to hear your situation. I myself had surgery by Dr. William Brown 3 years ago last August. I did 8 months of research online before deciding on him. Looking through various sites, including this one for insights and recommendations. Overall I read positive reviews and outcomes from him. I choose him because of that info and because I heard nightmare stories about mesh repairs. But I can tell you after 3 years that I am in more pain and discomfort after the surgery than before.
He was very personal and nice during my visit. With the great recommendations from many sites including this one, I felt like I was in the best of hands with him.
Now pretty much the only time I dont feel pain is when I sleep.
Also when I get involved in certain physical activity (running) the pain seems to subside some. Not sure if it is adrenaline or blood possible breaking up scar tissue, hopefully. Some people say non mesh repair is best some say mesh is best. In the end I guess its a coin flip on how your body will respond to the surgery. If i had a chance to do it all over again. I would just deal with the pain from the supposedly “hernias” I had the rest of my life. Then be cut up by a surgeon and be 5x worse than I was before. Physical I let myself go by eating unhealthy foods and alcohol.
The only goal in my life is to try and lose the 70 pounds I gained after the surgery. I’m hoping that by doing do it would break up scar tissue and fatty tissue that has caused maybe nerve entrapment.
All i can say to all those who are struggling and dealing with post surgery pain is to just cherish those few minutes or hrs a day that for whatever reason the pain is gone. Because when I do feel that relieve roughly on average about an hr or two day, it feels like an alternate reality that im living in. During that time I become full of bliss and just examine myself and surroundings. And by not feeling nothing I feel “normal”. -
My Dad had an extremely bad liver reaction post gall bladder surgery. The Cleveland Clinic was the only place that was able to find a resolution which was unknown prior to his arrival. He went to countless specialists all over before it started becoming a life and death situation. The Cleveland Clinic doctor who discovered the issue actually wrote about the case in his soon to be published book.
Cleveland Clinic has a history of many “first” cutting edge innovations in medicine from heart valves to gene therapy.
I look at your situation and think about another scenario. What if a person had similar injuries to yours but instead they were received through a bad accident at work or in a car? I would think there has to be someone somewhere in the United States with the ability and understanding to rebuild and increase your quality of life.
I interpreted from your first post that Dr. Krpata might have had a plan and possibly started discussing potential options with other specialists in that field of study with his group? Most doctors will explain the worst case scenario / risks first just to inform the patient without giving an actual indication of how likely those risks are to happen with surgery.
The University hospital notanewbeeok mentioned also sounds promising. I am pulling for you to find a solution that ultimately gives you a much higher quality of life!
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Is the surgeon with 10 law suits in USA or elsewhere?
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Well, I am hesitant to post this because I am not here to destroy this forum or anyone’s reputation.
Having said that, in the short time I have been here, I am not impressed with the surgeons mentioned here. In fact I just read a court complaint of one of the surgeons often mentioned here of a man he killed through sure negligence and neglect. Also he has about 10 cases listed in the courts. Reading the complaint, I was flabbergasted by how negligent this guy was. And he is one of the so-called “hernia specialists” that all he does is hernias. Ha. This is a surgeon I was contemplating contacting, in fact I did email him and got no response. If I had not researched him I might have come under his knife.
I don’t know if this is any help to you or not but the U. of Iowa’s website mentioned rebuilding the abdominal wall of select patients that have weak tissue through the use of grafts. You might want to contact them. I believe they are in Iowa City, IA.
Sad to read your story. Let this be a warning to guys who complain that I am looking for the perfect surgeon. I am not. I am looking for someone who is professional with ethics and a committment to the welfare of his patience and who is competent.
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I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t know with certainty, but I think a lawsuit in California would need to be filed within a year of the injury.
By the way, I consulted with Dr. Brown before he retired, and didn’t get a good impression. I couldn’t get him to describe what procedure he was going to perform exactly for repairing my hernia. It seemed like some mish mash of techniques which included something that sounded like a Desarda. He was actually getting angry as I was trying to get him to clarify what he was going to do exactly. I consulted with him a second time, and he was even angrier, and I got no additional insight. I felt like I dodged a bullet there.
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Hi Peter – coincidentally, I was just thinking about you this weekend and wondering if anything more had come of your discussions with specialists. I was going to tag you in a post, but I didn’t want to pry…
I understand not wishing to go through the emotional toll of a lawsuit…but perhaps it is worth exploring for the sake of your future? With a strong case, the likelihood of a settlement is probably high, as such cases very often will not make it to court, especially if insurance is involved…they will typically try to negotiate a settlement to avoid the cost of litigation.
Settlement funds could provide a nest egg to help offset current and future lost earnings, help cover health/rehab expenses, and perhaps innovations in treatment/surgery may even materialize that will then be more within financial reach as a result. I would at least reach out to an experienced litigator in this space and go from there.
Only you and Dr. Krpata can really know best, but I still wonder if it isn’t worth taking the risks associated with another surgery to see what he might do for you. Even a ‘partial success’ might be better than the status quo?
In any case, your situation (and that of some others) indeed serves as a valuable warning to not take ‘routine’ surgery lightly…and that even when we do our best to find an expert with a good track record, and we don’t do anything ‘wrong’ ourselves, that things can turn out badly (extremely badly in your case).
I wish that I had more to offer than empathy, encouragement, and throwing out some ideas…I’m glad that you are not alone and have your family for support. There are literally thousands of people out there who have experienced horrible trauma (military veterans, accident and abuse victims, etc.) and with much time and work so many find some purpose and direction, so I wish for you to maintain hope and enlist the help of people who can guide you on that difficult path.
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And sure enough, the one’s who are supposed to be best in the game do not take health insurance. This is clearly a money making machine and we are paying the price sadly.
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