The Case of the Mismarked Nipples

After a Georgia woman received breast reduction surgery, she found to her great surprise that her nipples were up near her collarbones. When she complained, her surgeon said he didn't see a problem. She sued him and was awarded $170,000. A free repair would have cost him around $13,000. Richard C. Mitchell, the patient's attorney, says there are 2 lessons here: "Measure twice, cut once," and when you make a mistake, own up to it.

The day before performing breast reduction surgery on Elizabeth Waite, Atlanta plastic surgeon Sheldon M. Lincenberg, MD, drew the markings on her breasts showing where the nipples would be after surgery. Although there was a lot of breast to cut away, Ms. Waite and her husband wondered whether the markings were put too high, Mr. Mitchell says. The photos Mr. Waite took of the markings the night before surgery were later evidence in Dr. Lincenberg's malpractice trial.

When Ms. Waite saw the results immediately after surgery, her nipples seemed even higher than the markings had been. "They were almost up to her clavicle," says Mr. Mitchell. Ms. Waite complained right away, but Dr. Lincenberg downplayed the problem, the attorney says.

Back home, Ms. Waite found she could not put on a bra, wear many of her clothes or nurse her baby. She continued to ask Dr. Lincenberg to fix the problem. "The last time she saw him, he said there are probably things we can try," Mr. Mitchell says. "But by that time she didn't want him to touch her." She sued Dr. Lincenberg.

Mr. Mitchell says his client could not afford to pay for followup surgery with another surgeon. While her health insurance had paid for the breast reduction, it would not cover another procedure. "Her insurer did not consider this repair medically necessary," the attorney says. "Of course, it was medically necessary, but that's how insurers are these days."

Dr. Lincenberg continued to insist there was no problem and refused to settle. His explanation at the trial was that post-operative changes had caused Ms. Waite's breasts to drop, giving the appearance that her nipples were too high. "I guess he really thought he was going to win," Mr. Mitchell says. "But the pictures [shown at the trial] were horrible," the attorney says. The jurors saw for themselves where the nipples had been placed.

All but the $13,000 cost for surgical repair was for pain and suffering. Dr. Lincenberg decided not to appeal and his malpractice carrier paid the $170,000 award. Wayne D. McGrew III, the attorney for Dr. Lincenberg, did not respond to a request for comment.

Leigh Page