I am really afraid of Dr. Bublik.
I did not notice Bublik wearing all black with the gold chain until a few months ago and I decided not to have him do my face lift even though he was cheaper than anybody else.
On the day of surgery I was again shocked that he wore black pants and shirt even to perform surgery. Later in his office I noticed that his entire staff wore black.
After I was dressed for the surgery and laid on a bed a nurse came in with a device that applies pressure to the legs during surgery. She told me that Dr. Bublik wanted this for me and that they would bill Medicare. I had to write a written consent for this extra item to be billed to Medicare. I doubt that MediCare will pay for this because Medicare does not pay for cosmetic surgery. I made it very clear with Dr. Bublik that $11,000 was going to pay for the entire surgery with no additional items added to the bill. We will see if this item is added to my bill and if it is, I will consider it evidence that Dr. Bublik tricked me into an additional expense by getting my signature just as I was about to go into surgery.
Right now I am sitting at my computer determined not to get a stroke from the treatment I received from Bublik. I have consulted the internet to find out why I am being choked by the bandage. It does not seem right to me. My blood pressure has skyrocketed but I have a back up blood pressure medication that is working so I probably will not have a stroke. The pressure on my neck is so intense that my head is pulsing and my throat really hurts. I don't know if it is because of the bandage or because I have been speaking loudly on the telephone but I am very horse and my throat is sore. This was not the case after surgery. It felt so wrong that I went to the internet to see if the doctor was trying to separate the neck muscles and had put a tennis ball or something like that between them. 20 out of 20 doctors said patients were not supposed to be in this much discomfort. I will give you some links and quotes so you can see for yourself.
February 2nd, 2015 Kevin Sadati DO said
January 30th, 2015 Robert E. Zaworski, MD said:
Contact your surgeon as soon as possible regarding your bandage. In my practice, the tight bandage is applied after surgery and usually stays on overnight, then I apply a lighter one. Every surgeon has there own preference to post op care. Best wishes!
Dr. Delgado says:
The following day, (after surgery) you may shower, wash your hair as usual and reapply the compression band, a four-inch wide elasticized band that circles under your chin and attaches with Velcro over the top of your head. This light compression discourages the accumulation of fluid swelling under your chin.
There is minimal discomfort with neck lifts. Pain medication is prescribed, but it is unlikely it will be needed for more than a day or two following your procedure.
I know that I am not supposed to go through this much pain. My esophogus should not feel like a tennis ball has been punched into it and wrapped up tight. I thought and thought about what he had said. "We have to put on this bandage to prevent bruising and swelling." I told him right then and there that I did not care about bruising and swelling. I had had laser work done on my face that blew it up like a cantalope and it didn't bother me. There was no reason for me to be tortured to prevent brusing and swelling. I decided to call him and make sure that I was right about the only reason for the bandage being bruising and swelling because if that was really true I was going to talk him out of making me suffer with the bandage. Bruising and swelling are part of the normal process of healing. So may a little pressure might be a good idea but to strangle the patient seems wrong.
I put in a call to the phone number that Dr. Bublik gave me when he told me to call him at any time if I had problems. I thought I would get through to the doctor. I thought that a doctor probably doesnn't do a face lift every day and that the patient you just performed surgery on would have a direct line into the doctor if that's what he indicated or at least a line into someone who would connect you with the doctor. I called Dr. Bublik's telephone answering service. I was very anxious or I would not have called. I was surprised that the number he gave me was a telephone answering service but I went through the prompts. I made several mistakes and had to redo the process because I was in so much agitation. I got the usual "If you have an emergency call 911" message that I have always thought was terribly cold and then the robot said, If you are a doctor, a hospital, or a patient with an emergency, press zero." I pressed zero. Someone answered and I don't remember how the conversation started but she asked my name and I said "Mona." I thought it would be enough to give my first name because I had just had surgery and I thought "Mona" would be enough. But the girl's instructions were to get the first and last name. You might think it unreasonable of me to think I should get right through but I'm telling you the doctor made me think he was giving me his private number and I was shocked at being treated so formally when I was suffering so greatly and had been told I could "call him any time if I needed anything." So I was mad. I was agitated and I was mad. I spelled out my name laboriously. M as in Mary. O as in Ostrich. N as in Nancy. T as in Tom, etc. I was not sweet. I was mad. Then she asked me what insurance I had.
I was stunned. Nobody had asked me about insurance before. I paid $11,000 cash. Was Medicare not enough to cover a telephone call? I really did not know. I was to agitated from the five hours of surgery and the medication to be reasonable. All I knew was that the doctor had told me he would be there for me if I need him and he betrayed me by setting up a system I could not deal with.
I exploded. I said "Fuck you!" and I hung up. I knew the bitch wouldn't pass the message on to the doctor so I wasn't surprised when he did not call. As time went on I started thinking maybe this man in black with the gold chain was a rotten son of a bitch who would punish me for being rude to his telephone answering service. Five hours later I had a bright idea. The doctor had told me that he tried to call me after the surgery but I was not aware of getting the cqall. When he told me he called me I figured I had been asleep but now I wondered if maybe he didn't call the right number so I wanted to make sure the answering service had the right number.
I called them back and got a different girl. I told her I wanted to know if the first girl had gotten my right number. The second girl said there was no indication that I had called. I was devastated. I am devastated now. Not only had the first girl not paged my doctor but she destroyed the message from my telephone call to punish me for being rude. Then I thought that's what the doctor wanted. He wanted people to beg for his mercy. I hate him. Now I have to complete the face lift process with a man I deeply distrust, a man who dresses intentionally to create distrust in normal people. I hate myself for not being smarter, but I honestly did not know he wore black all the time until the day of the surgery and I did not find out that he instructs his staff to wear all black until after the surgery. It's like waking up in a room full of demons. All you can do is pray for protection.
So I am writing which seems to have calmed me down although it has not eased the tension on my esophogus. I am terrified but I am not shaking like I was. It is three o'clock in the morning. I will talk to the supervisor of the telephone answering service at 6:00 o'clock. Do you think she will care or will she agree that rudeness is cause for destroying a message. I am not even mad that she didn't call the doctor. I tolerate a lot of abuse and I would expect that a lot of people would not want to go against the doctor's orders which were apparently not to let anyone contact him without first divulging their insurance information which I consider a totally insane demand to place on a "Patient with an emergency." The instructions were clear. "If you have an emergency call 911. If you are a doctor, a hospital or a patient with an emergency press zero."
Of course, with all the agitation, cruelty, and really brutal treatment from the answering service my face bloated up, my eyes started tearing and sagging downward as the swelling against the bandage got worse from my throbbing head. I dread seeing Dr. Bublik tomorrow. I have to get him to loosen the bandage and keep up a professional relationship until this ordeal is over.
What do I do if he refuses to relieve the pressure? Do I go to the emergency room? I don't know. Maybe I should call Medicare and see if they will pay for the emergency visit. Or maybe I would be better off to see another doctor on an non-emergency basis. No that won't work because the bandage is coming off in a day and a half. I just don't know what to do. Maybe I should call a few people.