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Anyone knows what kind of doctor I am supposed to see?
Hello (again) everyone,
As I am approaching 3 years since I got mutilated and seriously hurt by Dr. Brown, I am once again using this platform to ask for suggestions or help. I just spent my third Christmas since the surgery and I am at a point where I have lost all joy or feeling in life (having lost my career and my entire life as a result of the surgery).
For those not familiar I was a professional dancer in Los Angeles with an overuse injury (no hernia, no bulge, solid 6 pack) and Dr. Brown was a charlatan on this website who pretended to work with professional athletes only to maim them by cutting flaps out of their external oblique aponeurosis, cutting against the direction of the fibers ultimately releasing the entire external oblique and by extension the entire abdominal wall. When I sneeze my core does not tense up or flex instead it caves in. There is no tension left. I cannot brace my core at all nor rehab it in any way shape or form – it is no longer structurally whole.
If you guys follow the news recently another dancer by the name of Twitch (Ellen’s DJ) ended his life and it hit very very very close to home as I was also a dancing in LA and we knew some of the same people as the dance community is quite small. A lot of the comments on articles of his passing said “wish he would’ve asked for help” and I thought to myself..I have been crying for help for the past 3 years and not 1 person has answered the call or cared at all. I’ve seen how much his death hurt his loved ones and I do not wish to do the same to mine. It is the only thing that keeps me going right now.
So far I have seen the following doctors:
– Dr. Zoland – I mean no disrespect by this but he has no idea what he’s talking about. I do not understand how he can run a “Core” clinic, he couldn’t even assess my situation with the operative report. He said “I don’t see what he did wrong”.– Dr. Meyers (Philadelphia) – was extremely eager to operate on me however he did not plan on addressing at all the major generalized weakness I have as a result of Dr. Brown freeing and reconfiguring my abdominal wall and I have tracked another patient who also went through Dr. Brown then got Dr. Meyers to operate on him and is now fully disabled. He just wants to pile on his own procedure in a completely different area.
– Dr.Yunis in Sarasota – by far the most human doctor I consulted. Confirmed to me that Dr. Brown seriously hurt me for absolutely no reason and could not wrap his head around what he was seeing. Unfortunately he said he is not comfortable operating on me which I respect I would rather he be honest with me than to try and make a quick buck off me.
– Dr. Krpata in Cleveland – Very monotone, uninterested, showed virtually no empathy and said “I can do exploratory surgery and there’s a chance you’ll lose a testicle”. For obvious reasons I do not plan on going back to someone who does not seem interested or concerned about me at all. He did warn me to be careful of “internet doctors” who market themselves. Sadly I do not know where else to find help than the internet right now.
I am not sure where to go from here. I figured a hernia/sports hernia surgeon would be best suited since its the same area and they are used to avoiding critical nerves/areas but every single one I consult has no idea what to do with me because all they know is their 1 procedure on a blank canvas of a patient. They do not know how to help me after Dr. Brown essentially ran my inguinal canal through a vitamix.
So do I need to see a trauma surgeon? A plastic surgeon? I do not have any mesh or external material in me. I just have an external oblique aponeurosis thats in multiple pieces (for no reason).
I am willing to travel to anywhere in the world. I am considering consulting Dr. Lloyd in London, perhaps the hernia doctor in asia (Korea I believe?) that a few people went to. If not my next step will be to either walk into the Mayo Clinic and try to find someone to help or make a social media campaign and make noise about what happened to me – hopefully it reaches a doctor somewhere who cares and is willing to try and help.
If anyone has any idea or suggestions please reply here or feel free to private message me.
I appreciate your time and hope you all had a good Christmas.
Sincerely,
Peter
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10 Replies
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Peter, you previously indicated that you are in Canada. Have you approached the surgeons at the Shouldice Hospital, just north of Toronto? Their chief surgeon (Dr. Fernando Spencer Netto) was interviewed here by Dr. Towfigh. In that interview Dr. Spencer Netto mentioned that in addition to his hernia practice, he also has practiced trauma surgery. If he can’t help directly, he may be able to point you towards other specialists. Similarly, Dr. Frederick Brenneman at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto is a trauma surgeon who expresses an interest in complicated abdominal hernias.
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@peterc Reach out to Dr.Peter Billings in Kirkland,WA.
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Dr. Martindale at OHSU in Portland Oregon might be worth contacting. He seems to be involved in some very difficult abdominal wall reconstruction efforts, and also various associated side effects of surgery.
https://www.ohsu.edu/people/robert-g-martindale-md-phd
Here is a search of some of his recent publications. I chose “abdominal” as a specific search word. From 2018.
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Seems you’ve been to the right surgeons. You need a hernia surgeon who specializes in revisional surgery. Not a plastic surgeon. Not a surgeon who does primary hernia repairs. Revisional surgery is a different ballgame.
Follow the recommendations of the surgeons you already saw who offered you a plan of care.
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@cerebralsuccour What Dr. Brown did to me can indeed be interpreted as a hernia surgery its the same area and similar technique despite having no bulge or hernia. One might even argue that what he did would’ve been better suited to treat a really unathletic older person with a big hernia not an athlete. The reason I don’t know what doctor to go to is because he bilaterally destroyed my inguinal canal by opening the external oblique aponeurosis through the entirety of the length of the canal, then cut laterally to create flaps which means he effectively destroyed the structural integrity of my abdominal wall and released the external oblique aponeurosis from its lateral attachment (the inguinal ligament) completely.
The dramatic weakness I have is because of this. From a structural point of view its the equivalent of someone cutting my achille’s tendon in half and then trying to attach the upper piece (still attached to my calf muscle) onto my heel and the part that originates from the heel under that. It would cause catastrophic structural weakness to my leg and I probably would not be able to walk anymore as its origin would no longer be connected to the rest of the tissue and by extension the calf muscle.
So what I need is someone to undo what he did and quite literally put my external oblique aponeurosis back in 1 piece which is actual reconstruction of the abdominal wall. But I am afraid the damage and the weakness has been done and I’m looking for a miracle that doesn’t exist which is why none of these doctors know what how to do it and why I’m asking if perhaps I am now in the realm of needing a plastic surgeon or something similar. Its damage beyond anything any of them have ever seen. Its stupid beyond words and was completely unnecessary.
I’ll check out all the doctors you mentioned but quite frankly I have given up of ever feeling normal or healthy again a long time ago. I appreciate your time and the suggestions and If I ever get anywhere I’ll be sure to drop you an update.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by PeterC.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by
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Sorry, I assumed you were dealing with the aftermath of hernia surgery. Given that you are in the dance world, perhaps try using your connections to get a consult with a large company doc (e.g. the National Ballet). The goal being a referral to appropriate expertise given your condition. See the MD list here: https://national.ballet.ca/Meet/Staff
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Hey @cerebralsuccour thank you for the suggestions. I have not contacted Shouldice being that I never had a traditional hernia in the first place rather I had tearing in the abdominal tissues from overuse from being a dancer. From my experience so far all the surgeons that specialize in traditional hernias rather than dealing with athletes/sports hernias get very very uncomfortable when presented with my case because they are used to dealing with regular people who just get a traditional hernia and never had surgery before. Anything more complex or different they get stuck – at least in my experience. I will look those names you gave me and try to reach out as well. I appreciate your concern and you taking the time with the suggestions.
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Hey @sensei305 will do thank you for the suggestion
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Hey Good Intentions, I appreciate the reply and suggestion. I will look him up
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Hi Dr. Towfigh,
I have not been offered a plan of care by anyone. Dr. Zoland just said he doesn’t even see what Dr. Brown did wrong and stopped there. Dr. Yunis said what happened to me is an abomination but also did not know how to help me and did not offer a plan of care.
Dr. Meyers did not exactly provide a plan of care he just wants to do his surgery where he detaches the rectus and reattaches it and cuts into the adductor tendons – which he does to every patient. He is not addressing the serious issues I have since Dr. Brown’s surgery and the last patient that went from Dr. Brown’s surgery to Meyers is now on disability.
Finally Dr. Krpata did not offer a plan of care. He just said “I can do exploratory surgery and you’ll lose a testicle”. This is not exactly a plan of care and I’m not very keen on losing a testicle nor being cut into with no plan when I had no testicle issues at any point throughout my journey.
So unless I’m missing something there is no plan of care here. I wish Dr. Yunis knew what to do because he was by far the only doctor who seemed to genuinely care about my well-being.
There was another Doctor in the U.S who operated on an olympic athlete for a sports hernia and the person had said great things about him I just cannot seem to remember his name so I’ll try to find him.
Nevertheless I appreciate your reply Dr. Towfigh and I’ll keep on trying to find help as long as I can.
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