Shellie’s Medical Malpractice Nightmare
and her
Fight for Freedom of Speech
Getting a New Doctor
I needed to find a new doctor and did not know which of the Chicago plastic surgeons to trust. My orthopedic resident friend talked to a Chicago plastic surgeon at the hospital he worked out of about my problems. This surgeon was Dr. Richard T. Caleel D.O. from Chicago, Illinois, and he agreed to see me.
I went to Dr. Caleel's office in Chicago, Illinois, approximately four weeks after Dr. Robert S. Kagan performed the nightmare surgery on me. I arrived with my medical records and my long list of medical problems resulting from the surgery, praying that this surgeon could help me. Richard T. Caleel D.O., said that he was amazed that Dr. Kagan did a Benelli lift on me due to the lack of tissue in my breasts. He stated that my implants were not filled adequately. My wounds still were not healing, they were spitting sutures, dripping puss and blood. Dr. Caleel instructed his nurse Elana to take photographs of my burn. During the time Elana took the photographs of my burn she said to me "I hope that you are suing the doctor that did this to you." She told me the name of a lawyer that Dr. Caleel liked and suggested that I go see him. I went to the suggested lawyer for counsel to find out what, if anything that I could do about the horrible medical condition I was left in due to Dr. Kagan's medical negligence.
Dr. Richard T. Caleel and Elana discussed their negative opinions of my surgery and the horrible outcome with me and my orthopedic surgeon friend very often.
I saw Dr. Caleel for many months as he assisted me with the wounds that would not heal, the burn, and the suture problems. In May, five months after the surgery performed by Dr. Robert S. Kagan, Dr. Caleel instructed Elana to take pictures of the hideous condition my breasts were still in. After five months of having open wounds, the wounds remained bright red, tender, and very painful, as well as my breasts were rippled and I had very crooked nipples. Often while in public I would look down and see that blood and puss had leaked out of my breasts and through my shirt.
At this point, my attorney wanted to speak to Dr Caleel, about the medical problems that I was left with after this nightmare surgery and Dr. Kagan's medical negligence. I asked Dr. Caleel to speak to him. Richard T. Caleel D.O., met with my attorney voiced criticisms of the surgery that Dr. Robert S. Kagan performed on me, but stated that he did not want to get involved. I later learned that Richard T. Caleel D.O. had been sued for medical negligence himself and does not cooperate with plaintiff's attorneys. I was left wondering why Dr. Caleel bothered to speak to my attorney at all. Dr. Caleel was not the last surgeon to say that I was a victim of medical malpractice but that they were unwilling to give a deposition or testify to that fact.
I immediately went to another Chicago plastic surgeon who told me that I should go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. This surgeon made it clear that he did not want to get involved. He also stated that he believed that I would have a difficult time finding a surgeon in the Chicago area that would want to help me because they would not want to have to talk or testify against a colleague. I did not follow his recommendation because I did not think that it would be wise to go to a doctor at Mayo Clinic whose office was a twelve hour drive away. I knew that it was going to take many visits to the new doctor to get all my problems addressed and Rochester, MN., was just too far away to travel repeatedly while feeling so ill.
I stopped seeing Richard T. Caleel D.O., because I was shocked and appalled by the conversation that he had with my attorney. I lost all respect for Dr. Caleel as a doctor and a person. I could not find any Chicago plastic surgeon that would touch me with a ten foot pole. In my search for an honest and qualified doctor to help me I had to leave the state of Illinois and go to Indianapolis, Indiana. It was there that Dr. John J. Coleman became my doctor. He was recommended to me by a highly respected Indiana doctor. When I first saw Dr. Coleman he said that he could not do any surgery to correct the plastic surgery mistakes Dr. Kagan created until he stopped the wounds from opening and dripping blood and puss. The puss meant that there was infection in my breasts. Operating on my breasts in that condition would likely spread the infection throughout my breasts, and Dr. Coleman said that would likely cause the loss of both breasts. Dr. Coleman first did a small operation that he said was the "removal of foreign bodies" (probably suture material). I then had to remain on strong antibiotics to stop the puss and allow the open wounds to heal, which took about five months. I had to place very warm cloths on my breasts two or three times a day to draw the puss and sutures to the wound site. Then Dr. Coleman would remove the sutures that were hanging out of the wounds. It was disgusting and painful. Finally, the sutures stopped coming out, the blood and puss stopped dripping, and the wounds healed. After five agonizing months, Dr. Coleman felt that it was time to schedule my surgery. Dr. Coleman did one eight-hour surgery and then several small surgeries to fix the surgical mess that I had been left with by Dr. Kagan. I had to drive from Chicago to Indianapolis, Indiana, (about a 3 hour drive) more than a dozen times to see Dr. Coleman. My concerns about seeing a doctor at Mayo Clinic, a 12 hour drive, were well-founded. Dr. Coleman was very kind and caring. I can never thank him enough for taking such good care of me. I could not have been in better hands - he is amazing.
Dr. Coleman stated that Dr. Kagan did not properly place my implants and as a result they were pushing into the nerves in my armpits, which was the cause of my arms constantly going numb. My implants were also under-filled by Dr. Kagan which caused them to look wrinkled. My wounds would not heal because Robert S. Kagan M.D. should not have done a Benelli procedure on me at all. Dr. Coleman stated that without any breast tissue and with my breasts having such thin skin, the Benelli procedure had compromised the blood supply in my breasts. He stated that I was lucky that I didn't lose my nipples. I definitely came close to losing them during the year that it took them to heal.