Dr. Berger destroyed my health and my life. I am in constant misery from the horrific pain and damage that Dr. Berger caused. Before you let him operate, go to the California Medical Board site: www.mbc.ca.gov and see the $400,000 medical malpractice judgment against him. Then go to www.sdcourt.ca.gov. Better yet, paste this link in your browser: http://courtindex.sdcourt.ca.gov/CISPublic/ then click "Party Name Search" and on the form fill in "Civil" and "All Courts" and his name as Defendant, and you will see the dozens of lawsuits against him. If I had done this, I would have saved myself from this agony that is my life. Here is my story:
I had double jaw surgery with Dr. Berger on 9-15-18. Prior to surgery I had many appointments with Dr. Berger. With family members present, I told him repeatedly that I had previously had two turbinate reduction procedures by ENT's and that I did not want him to touch these vital organs inside my nose that are essential for breathing. I gave him the reports from both doctors. He said he would not touch the turbinates in my nose and stated that there was no reason since they were reduced twice and he had a CT scan showing their location. During jaw surgery he cut the turbinates out of my face with scissors and then burnt them, destroying the mucous membranes and my ability to breath. Since then I have been in constant pain. I have been diagnosed with Empty Nose Syndrome (ENS). Google it. Nightmare condition. I no longer have the ability to warm and humidify the air so my nose is horribly dry, there is no mucous, constantly scabs but never heals, stinging, and hurting. My throat is red and sore like strep throat due to the cold, dry air hitting my throat. I have terrible vibration in my nose and face. I "suffocate" and feel like I have plastic wrap over my face and can't breath. Berger was paid an extra $1,000 for cutting out the turbinates that were perfect prior to surgery and had already been done twice by specialists. Also, just before surgery, his office clerk suddenly wanted $2500 for "special guides" which were not covered by insurance and would "make the surgery more accurate." Obviously, we paid. No one told us about this until right before surgery. I also had to have two CT scans because his clerk took the wrong image and had to re-do it, so I got double radiation and double charges.
After surgery, my septum was crooked and bent to one side, with the right nostril almost twice as big as the left. I have painful vibration. I have permanent nerve damage with no feeling in my upper teeth, gums, palate and lip. The post-surgery CT scan shows "uneven (jaw) joint spaces", "surgically reduced turbinates" and there is an unrepairable hole between the nasal wall and the maxillary sinus. My septum was put back on crooked and is bent so far the air can't flow in right. Dr. Berger would not discuss my post-surgery pain and I had to visit and pay to many doctors to find out what he had done. I have spent the past two years seeking help in the U.S. and in Europe. I have been to top universities. I have seen ENT's, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, and reconstructive facial plastic surgeons, but no one can repair the damage or alleviate my pain. I have received stem cell therapy at enormous expense; it failed. One jaw doctor said, "We never cut through the nasal floor like this" and recommended that I re-do the orthodontia to try and match my teeth to the off-center crooked jaw. I am undergoing orthodontia a second time at great expense. I had a surgery done to try to reconstruct my septum by reinforcing it with bone graft, but the damage Dr. Berger caused can't be fixed.
I met a victim of Dr. Berger - a young woman who would have been pretty if he had not cut her septum during jaw surgery collapsing her nose into a saddle nose deformity.
My elderly parents have been heart-broken and financially crushed by this. This nightmare has devastated my life and my once happy family. My advice is to run away as if your life depends on it. Because it does.
Update - Looks like Dr. Berger's partner Dr. Thayer DMD, MD, recently sued Dr. Joel Berger on 10/26/2021. Thought this information might be useful when deciding whether or not you want to have Dr. Berger do dental work on you. Using Dr. Berger to do my jaw surgery was the biggest mistake of my life. read more
