I had a ski accident and went to ER. I scheduled a visit with Dr. Zarins (69 years old) 4 days later about my shoulder. He diagnosed a Type 2 separation and refused my requests for physical therapy (PT) even though I'm an athlete and he said it would "heal itself". He never did an Xray or MRI. Months later, he told me the AC joint "healed too tightly" (probably because of no PT) and I would need DCR (removal of part of the collarbone) surgery to stop pain and catching. I consented to arthroscopic surgery only. He failed to show up for the pre-op appointment a few weeks later. He did surgery seven months after the accident without EVER DOING AN XRAY OR MRI.
After the surgery, where he cut off a piece of my clavicle (collarbone), I completely lost use of my right arm. The pain meds didn't work and 2 days later, my hand was numb even though a block wasn't used. I called Dr. Zarins, who said "I didn't operate on your HAND" and "Take a couple of Advil."
The next day, I took off the bandages to discover that he had done OPEN, not arthroscopic surgery, even though there were "no complications." Instead of a 1" incision for OPEN surgery (which his online leaflet says), I had a 3" incision and ANOTHER 1" incision next to it, like a railroad track. I asked Dr. Zarins when he took out the stitches (without washing his hands or wearing gloves) later that week WHY he did open and not arthroscopic, as we agreed. He said, "Because it was faster." (Total surgery time was 18 minutes!). I repeated what he said, and he replied, "oh, I meant that it heals faster." I replied that I thought that arthroscopic healed faster, and he said, "Whaddaya worried about the scar! It's only an inch!"
He again refused to give me a script for physical therapy. After I insisted, he gave me one for FOUR visits (the norm for this surgery is 18).
Although the clavicle degeneration was "mild" at the time of the accident according to the ER, because I did not have physical therapy, the bone in my AC joint was destroyed, and the degeneration was "severe" at the time of surgery, according to the pathology report.
What is most horrifying is that, although I visited Dr. Zarins office 3 times, he failed to diagnose a torn rotator cuff, damaged labrum, Hill-Sachs fracture (in the humeral ball), severe tendinosis, and dislocation, which I discovered when the first MRI was done by another doctor. Dr. Zarins did the WRONG SURGERY on the wrong part of my shoulder. Dr. Zarins' misdiagnoses and poor surgical technique on my AC joint, which would have been totally unnecessary had he followed a normal standard of care and might not have been necessary anyway since it wasn't the cause of the pain or catching, have left me with constant shoulder dislocations from minor things like lifting the vacuum cleaner or putting down my brief case, permanent hideous scars, deformity due to the massive scar tissue underneath, neck seizures, debilitating ongoing pain, tendinosis which can NEVER be undone. The rotator cuff, which was not repaired in time, has turned to fatty tissue meaning that further surgery is unlikely to be successful. I have permanent vascular and nerve damage caused by the surgery.
The pain and catching are ten times worse than before the surgery, because it was the other injuries, not the clavicle, which was catching and causing the pain. I am in horrible pain, and for 6 months, couldn't even be gently touched. My life has been ruined. I may never be able to successful compete in the sports I once loved.
I have undergone 2 procedures at another hospital, still in physical therapy after 8 months, and am now awaiting another surgery. All because of the unnecessary surgery, poorly done.
I will never have normal use of my arm because of this doctor who couldn't be bothered to take an MRI or Xray, take 10 more minutes to do an arthroscopic procedure, examine me properly, or show up for a pre-op appointment. I have also been left with a mountain of medical bills, and lost substantial income because I am self-employed. read more
