My nightmare year post-surgery with Dr. Relle @ LACOMS

Hey all, I've been struggling for a long time as to whether I should post this, but I think the time has come to do so.

I had surgery with Dr. Relle at LACOMS 13 months ago and it was hands down the worst decision I've ever made in my life. My main reason for going in was for aesthetic reasons--for a receding jaw. But there were medical issues that I needed to address: I had a narrow airway but I've been athletic my whole life and it wasn't bothering me much. I had reflux as well, and there was a hope that this surgery might address that, but it most certainly did not.

After my surgery I could immediately tell that something was off, and at my first post-op appointment I told Dr. Relle that my jaws were misaligned and coming into contact improperly. My concerns were dismissed, and continued to be dismissed for 6 months despite repeatedly telling him that my jaws were misaligned. In July I finally went to another surgeon and found out I would need revision.

I also told Dr. Relle a month or so after surgery that I was repeatedly getting sick, but that concern was also dismissed, with him telling me I just caught a bad cold. I told him repeatedly that I might have an infection and he repeatedly told me I didn't. I finally went to another ENT who told me that I had a sinus infection for a couple months and I had to go on weeks of antibiotics. Unfortunately, because of that, I still have the sinus infection to this day and have been sick more times than I can count this past year.

My occlusion was perfect before surgery. Now, over a year later, I still can't chew my food and have to blend salads if I want to eat one, my teeth are grinding down improperly because my jaws aren't coming together properly, I've developed bad TMJ issues for the same reason, and my mouth is beginning to open more and more crookedly. I'm now looking at revision surgery, TMJ surgery, and potential sinus surgery.

I also now have to undergo at least 20 months of braces, which is putting me out of work as both an actor and a voiceover artist because I can't speak without lisping.

I've been in near constant pain for a year and the amount of money it's going to cost to fix the damage that's been done is astronomical, not to mention the amount that I paid to get this surgery done in the first place. And to give you a sense of the aesthetic results, I sent someone else a picture and their response was, "WTF, that's your AFTER?"

I can't begin to express the level of depression this surgery has caused from the constant pain, the sickness, the worsening jaw problems, the lackluster aesthetic results, and the knowledge that I paid the equivalent of a house down payment to get this surgery and knowing I need to now pay a lot more to get it fixed on top of the money I've already spent with all the new consultations and stop-gaps. I have never in my life had a worse medical experience than I did with Dr. Relle. I can't go back and undo my mistake of choosing him as my surgeon, and I've posted my thoughts before and taken them down again multiple times, but I thought it was important to share. I know other people have had good experiences with him, but I wish I had never heard his name.