Not everyone is wild about the idea of plastic surgery, but even so, most of us would encourage our friends to change something that was truly bothering them. But what if that decision turned into a nightmare? It certainly did for Julia Curcio, a woman who contacted Body-Philosophy after being "butchered" by her surgeon. We'll let her tell you the story, just as she relayed it to us...
My name is Julie, and I've had the unfortunate experience of being 'butchered' by Dr. Brad Jacobs. It has been almost a year since my breast implant surgery, and I have spent every day of it in pain. I've become so completely depressed that I don't even feel like a woman anymore. It's embarrassing to even wear shirts. I used to love my body so much, and now I get sick at the sight of myself in the shower.
I was always very pretty, but was teased for having a flat chest. I'm small, only 5'2" and 118 pounds. I've always been in incredible shape. Mixed martial arts is a hobby of mine. Even though many women might have envied my body, I was always embarrassed by my flat chest. When I was younger, some friends had even called me 'head of the itty bitty titty committee,' not knowing how much that bothered me. I wanted to look like a girl. I always felt boyish, and it hurt. I thought small breast implants, just a nice B cup, would really change the way I felt about myself. And I went to see a surgeon. I didn't realize what a huge mistake I was making.
The first doctor I went to put in saline implants. One of these implants ended up positioned right on a nerve, causing me excruciating pain. Plus, the saline implants were so hard that my martial arts partners didn't know how to deal with it. I didn't know why they were like that. When I found out my first doctor had lost his license, even though I was generally happy with my surgery, I decided to look for another surgeon to address this issue. Silicone implants had not yet been approved by the FDA (this happened in November 2006), but they were available as part of a clinical study, and I thought they might feel more natural, so I decided to give them a try.
A woman I knew socially recommended Dr. Brad Jacobs, a doctor with a Manhattan practice. If you type his name into Google today, you will find at least three other malpractice suits against him, and he's lost his license in New York. Unfortunately, he's still practicing in New Jersey. I wish something showed up in Google earlier. When I initially thought of going to him, I did my research and nothing showed up. I even had a lawyer check up on him and his record seemed clean. Let that be a warning to other women out there-new information and court cases are happening all the time. Just because you checked up on the surgeon at one time doesn't mean there's nothing to be concerned about.
I was told that Jacobs was the best, that he did all the Playboy bunnies and had practically invented the under-muscle implant procedure. He said he hadn't attached his name to many of his projects because he didn't want the publicity. Looking back on it, I should have known that this comment sounded fishy.
But Jacobs was very confident and assertive. He said he could do anything, like he was God, and he was very critical of my body as it was. I didn't go there to get cut down, but he kept telling me my chest was all wrong.
I made it clear that I wanted very small implants, set somewhat to the side so I would have a nice hourglass figure and balance my hips. I didn't want to look like Sergeant Pepper with huge, perky breasts right up front. I'm not a sixteen-year old girl anymore. Jacobs agreed to go in through my previous scar, which he promised he would then soften through laser scar reduction as well. My first surgery was on October 3, 2006.
When I woke up from that surgery, everything was different. My breasts were huge-so big, in fact, that I couldn't even breathe. Jacobs knew I had asthma. There was no next-day follow-up appointment, and when I told him I couldn't breathe he said it was just normal swelling that would go down. It never did.
I had a reaction to anesthesia, and three days later I was still suffering from incredible pain. I opened my shirt and looked-and almost died! It turns out he went in through my nipple rather than through my old scar, and the laser scar reduction had resulted in a huge burn on my right breast, just below the nipple. It was unbelievable.
When I confronted the doctor, he became very nasty and insulting. He told me I was healing improperly because I had an eating disorder (which has never been true) and that the burn must have been from a hot compress that I applied. At the time I was just using ice rather than heat. I hadn't even been told that warm compresses would help the situation. I begged Dr. Jacobs to take out the implants, but he refused to listen to me.
Every time I went in for an appointment, I brought a friend with me. I can't stress how important that is. It's crucial to have witnesses (and support) when you're going through that experience. But after the visit in which he literally tried to squeeze my breast back into place, he told me I couldn't bring friends with me. Luckily, I ignored him and brought my boyfriend to my next visit.
At this point, my breast implant had actually started to abscess, pushing its way out through the old suture line where he'd performed the laser treatment. Finally, with an implant literally falling out of my side, Jacobs reacted, confirming 'We've gotta get this out of you tomorrow.'
I made it clear that I did not want to go under general anesthesia again, and he promised me that I would receive nothing more than a local anasthetic. When I woke up hours later, I discovered he had lied again. Not only did he put me out against my will, but he gutted all my breast tissue and fat tissue, and cut away four and a half inches of skin.
I had had enough. I found a new doctor who has worked with me for almost a year to repair the damage done to my body. My wounds keep opening and won't close, and I've had to have artificial skin grafted in to hold my breast together. My new doctor is fantastic, but he tells me he can't promise I'll ever be back to normal.
Even worse, there are so many lawsuits against Dr. Jacobs that it's unlikely we'll ever get a good settlement. I can't afford to keep having these surgeries, but at this point I have no other choice. Not only have my breasts been mutilated, but my left shoulder has also lost a great deal of range of motion from the uneven weight of my chest.
Today, I think I've come to a place where I know I'd be happier with what I have naturally. It not the way a person looks, but what's inside. When people like you, they see the real you, not just your appearance. This has been a big growth experience, and ultimately I'm just grateful I'm alive today. As terrible as this has been, it could have been much worse. By God's grace, I'll have some good days this week.
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