Comment by Katie — March 22, 2009 at 7:47 pm

That’s a pretty intense and disturbing thing to see when you first get on to the website. I’ve seen it before but it was awhile ago and it just caught me off guard. Maybe you can link to the picture for your more squeamish visitors? =)

Comment by Laura — March 23, 2009 at 9:48 am

There are two sides to every story and it was good to show the Dr’s response. Complications are always possible in any surgery. I am sorry for this man for his disfigurement and hope that he has had some improvement with subseqnent procedures.

Comment by Meg — March 23, 2009 at 10:42 am

I have to agree with Katie. I used to disaters of the bizarrs kind, but this one just bloody. I would recommend a link for the sqeemish becasue I almost lost my lunch scrolling down.

Comment by Anais — March 23, 2009 at 12:20 pm

The doctor was very brave to respond. However, didn’t he admit in this interview that the tip of Michael’s nose started to look necrotic just after surgery? If so, why didn’t he do something immediately to help? I understand that secondary rhinoplasties are much more complicated (this surgery was to correct Michael’s previous injuries), but he had to know that going in. I do hope Michael is recovering from this awful chain of unfortunate events, which started with getting hit in the head with a pipe.

Comment by mytwocents — March 23, 2009 at 12:23 pm

Yes, there’s always two sides to a story, but that still doesn’t negate the fact that by the patient’s account that the doctor seemed uninterested in following-up on the patient’s complications. There’s no excuse for that whatsoever. I’m sure the doctor did everything he could surgically at the time, but I’m wary of how he kept repeating that the only thing he could have done that would have changed the outcome was to have not done the surgery in the first place. And he also mentioned the logistical difficulties because of where the patient lived. If that’s the case, then he SHOULD have insisted that the patient make arrangements to stay close to where the doctor’s office was, or at least made alternative arrangements to have some kind of close to home care in case of complications. The doctor stated several times that the fact that the patient had already had prior rhinoplasty, made the case more complicated. I work for a doctor and imo it’s the responsibility of the doctor willing to do the surgery to insist that follow-up care would be available. At the very least the patient could sign a waiver releasing the doctor of any liability should problems arise. Jmo.

Comment by Matt — March 23, 2009 at 12:33 pm

Yeah, Mike, how’s it going? Have you had any improvements in your revision surgery? Hopefully you’re doing well these days. So sorry to see this happen to you. I don’t mean to be ageist but that Doctor is old and needs to know when to put down the scalpel.

Comment by Suzanne — March 23, 2009 at 4:10 pm

I would like to know what happened in the end to this guy. Did he ever get his nose repaired? The link on his site doesn’t work now. Does anyone know?

Comment by Chris — March 24, 2009 at 6:29 pm

I don’t think this doctor is at fault. ANY time you cut open the human body, complications can happen. You can die from anesthesia, have an allergic reaction, etc. Having ribs grafted into your nose is a major procedure, and bad things can happen. It’s sad, but not the doctor’s fault.

Comment by Lara — March 24, 2009 at 6:56 pm

He seems very genuine, honest and forthcoming to me. I don’t think he went into this surgery thinking, “I’m going to mess this kid up!” Complications occurred that were treated to the best of his ability, it seems. Having rhinoplasty myself, it was stressed to me countless numbers of times that complications, although rare, are possible. Whatever the case, I would guess that this problem would have happened regardless of the surgeon, which is so tragic for both parties.

Comment by Lara — March 24, 2009 at 6:58 pm

Another thing: I find it quite strange that the patient has not posted any recent pictures of his face. Why would you show the most awful, gory pictures without any current ones unless you were trying to incite sympathy for yourself, and anger towards the surgeon? I’m sure he doesn’t look like a model, but I’d wager he doesn’t look as bad as he’d like everyone to believe.

Comment by Road Crossing Chicken — March 24, 2009 at 7:32 pm

Damitall!!!!!!!!! Give a warning with that C R A P !!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone needs a hankie!

Comment by MJ — March 25, 2009 at 6:08 pm

Dear God, put that behind a jump!

Comment by Belladonna — March 25, 2009 at 8:51 pm

I agree with Katie. That was disgusting and there’s no way you can un-see that image. Could you post a link to the picture instead, because that was ten different kinds of disturbing.

Comment by SpookCat — March 25, 2009 at 9:14 pm

That doctor gave out an awful lot of this mans medical information. Are privacy laws different in the States than Canada? I would love him (Michael) to post some before and after photos of himself, esp. what his nose looked like just prior to this particular surgery. I have a feeling it may not have looked as bad as he thought. Perhaps he should not have been involved in a bar fight to begin with? I’m just sayin…….

Comment by MG — March 28, 2009 at 8:36 am

Awful looking photo. I agree, a link would help.

Comment by lrlanb — May 19, 2009 at 11:47 am

Well, if you click a link that SAYS “nose rot” what the heck do you THINK you’re going to see? NOSE ROT! Duh.

Comment by Brian Westley — July 19, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Whew, at least Dr. Who doesn’t cause nose rot (brain rot, maybe?)

Comment by humor me — October 30, 2009 at 12:15 am

Having had my nose broken twice by horses, I can see why Mike would have wanted to get his fixed, even if it was only off by “a little”, especially if he was suffering from minor breathing problems. They may not have been a problem then, but he was probably being smart and thinking of the future. I think Mike’s biggest problem is not so much with the fact that there were complications, but that he felt abandoned afterwords. “Doc! My nose really hurts and it seems to be rotting!” “Take some nitro cream and see me at your follow up appointment in 2 weeks.” Yeah, I can see why he’d be a little upset when his nose was starting to rot off and the dr is sitting in his office twiddling his thumbs saying ‘I wish I hadn’t done THAT one…” I think that’s more of the point than anything.