A Bloomingdale, New Jersey, woman was awarded $115,000 in a medical malpractice suit that she had lodged against a plastic surgeon when a procedure left her unable to blink or close her eyes, as reported by CBS News.
The woman, M.L., claims that the botched surgery, that took place over five years ago, did not improve her looks as she had hoped. She said, “When you go in there, you tend to go in expecting to look better -- not coming out looking like a freak.”
The procedure M.L. had scheduled is called a blepharoplasty. Seth Doane, a CBS New Correspondent, said that the surgery is designed to remove excess skin and tighten eyelids – and ultimately give the patient a younger appearance.
The surgeon allegedly told M.L. that he could clean up some scar tissue that she had accumulated from an earlier cosmetic operation. But, during the surgery, he removed too much skin.
The outcome was that M.L. could not longer close her eyes.
M.L.’s suit garnered her a jury award of $115,000. But she felt that it wasn’t near enough.
M.L. stated, “I don't think the jury really took into consideration what I've gone through, what I'm going through, or what the future is going to be like for me. When I put that mask on every night, it's like putting yourself in a little coffin.”
The mask is meant to protect her eyes during sleep.
The board-certified plastic surgeon named in the suit, P.P., refused to speak on camera and instead issued a statement that read that his center “considers pre-surgical counseling as important as the surgery itself and conducts extensive interviews with all prospective patients.”
Seth Doane reminded M.L., “You signed a consent form saying that you knew there were risks.”
M.L. responded, “There was nothing mentioned on that piece of paper that my eyes would not close for the rest of my life.”
Reports from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons states that more than 200,000 blepharoplasties were performed in the U.S. in 2010.
Another plastic surgeon, J.D. of Beverly Hills, claimed that the risks are very low but are complicated, “Not being able to close your eyes can result in minor problems, such as tearing, irritation, blurred vision, and if that's a chronic thing that goes on for too long a time -- it can even result in blindness.”
M.L. said that she only filed the lawsuit to bring attention to the problem so that others can avoid the painful results she has been faced with.
M.L. said, “I don't think there is anything that could make me whole again. How can you put a price on your eyesight?”
Doane stated that if you are considering plastic surgery seek out only board-certified physicians with experience. He also recommended that patients seek out personal recommendations.
Doane said, “Don't shop for a surgeon simply by searching on Google, because the top results are not necessarily the top doctors.”
In regards to fixing M.L.’s problem Doane said, “There is a procedure. You can take a skin graft from behind her ear and place that over her eyelid to stretch it out. But there is a risk, and as you can imagine, she is wary of any significant surgeries.”
If you have been harmed due a physician’s error, contact a medical malpractice attorney. Oftentimes monetary awards are made to compensate for your loss.