After nearly two-dozen rhinoplasty surgeries, commonly referred to as "nose jobs", a man has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against his plastic surgeon for leaving him "grossly deformed", as reported by the Courthouse News Service.
The plaintiff, V.T., claims that Dr. L.C. filed false criminal charges against him hoping the action would make him drop the lawsuit.
V.T. claims that following the final surgery he has been left "breathing from a straw in the middle of his face."
Named in the suit along with Dr. L.C. are Tulsa Surgical Arts and the Oklahoma Cosmetic Surgery Center. The suit was filed in Tulsa County Court and attorney Paul Boudreaux represents the plaintiff.
The first surgery occurred in April of 2006 after Dr. L.C. "sold and induced" V.T. into having it done, according to the suit.
The suit states, "In June of 2006, plaintiff, for cosmetic purposes only, underwent what was described by defendants as a simple rhinoplasty surgery. Thereafter, plaintiff underwent several more surgeries for a total of eight surgeries from June 5, 2006 through November 15, 2007. Plaintiff then left the country from December of 2007 through January of 2010."
From August 2011 to July 2012, after V.T. returned, Dr. L.C. performed 13 more plastic surgeries on his nose.
By May of 2013 V.T. sought the advice of "an expert in the field" and was told that Dr. L.C. shouldn't have used a skin graft from V.T.'s ear to cover up metal plates and screws he had inserted into his nose.
According to V.T. the expert confirmed that the "reconstruction of the nasal tip support structures should have been accomplished using cartilage or bone. As a result, infection was guaranteed because the nose is a contaminated area. Had infection been avoided, which it was not, the metal would have gradually eroded through the skin."
Then, during a July 12, 2012 surgery, Dr. L.C. subjected V.T. to contamination again by adding implants to his nose. The suit states, "…the existing hardware, which had been exposed and contaminated for months, was removed by defendants along with the Medpore [Medpor] implants."
The suit then explains the faults of Dr. L.C.'s surgical plans, such as placing "a silicon dorsal nasal implant…on top of the titanium plate."
After the last surgery, according to the suit, V.T. was "left grossly deformed, with his nose amputated, and breathing from a straw in the middle of his face, where his nose once was. Plaintiff has now undergone and will suffer through many more future reconstructive surgeries…"
On the matter of the criminal charges that Dr. L.C. wanted filed against the plaintiff, the suit stats that alleged reports "were denied and dismissed through the legal process, but have permanently smeared plaintiff's record."
Punitive damages are sought for medical malpractice, malicious prosecution, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, conspiracy and fraud.
If you have been hurt instead of healed while under the care of a doctor, you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit to sue for your damages. Contact a medical malpractice attorney for help right away!