Can you recommend an excellent hospital for facial trauma?
I hit my head on my kitchen countertop and broke my nose, orbital floor of my eye socket, and a few other bones. I went to GWU ER and the discharge docs are very lacking in instruction. They gave me a referral to a plastic surgeon at GWU (appt in 1 week) and ophthalmologist (appt in March! WTF?). A good portion of the right side of my face is numb and I'm wondering if I should look elsewhere in the meantime to get more timely treatment.
Should I be looking at oral and maxillofacial surgeons instead of plastic surgeons? Is MedStar well-regarded? I did find this post from about 8 months ago but it doesn't cover my specific needs, unless it's included in trauma in general.
So I would recommend keeping your appt that’s in 1 week. They can always pull strings to get you into ophthalmology sooner - I’ve had similar things at GW MFA happen to me. That being said, def try to get in to MedStar or Hopkins for second opinions. The fact that you could get into plastic surgery soon is great so it would be worth going to see what they have to say - you don’t have to stick with them but yeah. Ugh this sounds painful and I’m so sorry - sending you healing vibes.
That's great advice. I will look around today.
Hopkins has been very good to us honestly.
GW ER told me I should wait to see an ENT after I fell and landed on my face. Released me with both a broken nose and a concussion with no notes for after care at all. They actually said an ENT wouldn't want to see me until the swelling went down, so i waited a few weeks and my ENT (Dr. Schoenfeld) said I should have come in right away. I highly recommend getting to an ENT or specialist sooner rather than later. Also - a week later I still wasn't feeling right, went to MedStar urgent care and they diagnosed concussion, and got me a referral for their specialists. They have a concussion clinic in Silver Spring. Dr. Laugel was amazing for that - I ended up in speech therapy and physical therapy for a few months because of it. My dentist recommended Dr. Emery at Capital Center for maxilofacial oral surgery - and he's really picky about referrals. I saw him for TMJ, but I really liked him and my dentist only gives recs if they are really good.
Wow. Similar situation. I'm also shocked because I assume that a specialist would want to see me ASAP. My appointment for ophthalmology is not "prioritized" for some reason so the earliest they can see me is March. I would imagine they would want to look at my eye now to prevent damage sooner rather than later. Makes little sense.
Yup - mine was particularly weird, because it happened the morning after Christmas. There was no one at the ER at GW so I was seen and out in under 90 minutes. I now realize that I was still in shock, so I didn't even really grasp what had happened, or feel pain yet. That was the first major medical thing I've ever had, and it really opened my eyes to how much can happen from a fall. Mine was pretty bad - I fell down concrete stairs - but all in all I think it took me about 6 months to really feel ok again. The PT was the most unexpected thing for me - and I'm really glad I did it. I had weird neck/shoulder pain, and that really helped me to rehab and strengthen to prevent long-term pain. I think my biggest take away from the whole thing was if you don't feel "right" you have to advocate for yourself. I felt like I should have been able to shake it off, and I didn't want to be a complainer, but the reality is that falls can have unexpected consequences at any age.
OMG! I hope you're okay now!
I'm experiencing the same. My neck didn't hurt while I was in the ER but I'm noticing stiffness. I lost consciousness and hit my head on my countertop. The impact was so strong that it woke me up.
This is great advice. Thank you for sharing and I'm sorry for your ordeal.
Dr Baker Georgetown
Thanks - he does in fact handle facial trauma, including eye and orbit injuries.
I noticed that you had also replied in the other thread from 8 months ago. Do you have personal experience with this doc or perhaps a family member?
Coworker. And he’s worked up my husband for a La Fort but we haven’t gone through with that yet.
He’s pretty well published and respected professionally and just a good guy and doctor
Oooof - I’m so sorry this happened to you. I had a very similar injury with a broken jaw to boot from a mugging gone very wrong in the early 80’s. Sending you all kinds of support as you figure out the web of medical care you need. 💜
I would check out Georgetown, Dr. Posnick there repaired my orbital and zygomatic. He has apparently stepped away from clinical work, but the department can refer you to whom ever has taken his place.
Oh ow ow ow! Sorry this happened. :( I have no referrals, but yeah, you should be seen asap, and I hope you heal up well.
If your insurance has Health Advocate, they can research providers who take your insurance, meet what you are looking for, and have shorter wait times for appts. I've used them a bunch of times.