Charles H. Thorne, Dr

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ 2.0

Nov 22, 2024

This review is specific to Dr. Thorne's performance of reconstructive surgeries for children with microtia. If you are considering him for regular plastic surgery, this should not dissuade you. He is personable, professional, gentle, and intelligent. I do believe he is a good doctor, who seems very skilled at his regular pursuits (this earns the second star).

I saw Dr. Thorne 13 years ago when I was 11-12 years old over the course of numerous consultations, surgeries, and check ups. I have come to regret my surgery, and while I try to avoid assigning blame to anyone, I do believe there were areas of fault on the part of Dr. Thorne. I believe the practice of these surgeries is ethically misguided, that unrealistic expectations were set and that we did not operate with complete information.

During the consultation, we were not informed of the quantity of ribs that would be removed. This was at best downplayed, and at worst an outright deception. I was led to believe that *a* rib would be removed, when it reality, nearly the entire front half of my left side was removed. The cut-off ribs persistantly poke into my internal abdomen, causing intermittent discomfort that I will have to live with for the rest of my life. This is the most devastating consequence for me.

Secondly, the recovery was greatly downplayed. The pain from the rib removal was the worst ive felt in my life. I was unable to walk for several days, and while i was able to resume 'normal' activities within a few weeks, the healing process for the ear was long and arduous. It could not be slept on for quite some time - probably a few years. From the outside it was "healed," but it still felt tender and sensitive to pressure.

As for the results... in my opinion, they're Frankensteinian (see photos). I'm surprised that the medical community continues to stand by the rib cartilage procedure AND holds Dr. Thorne's work as the gold standard. Example photos are taken from selective angles and do not show that the 'ear' is very thick and flat flush against the head.

Philosophically, I have come to the firm conclusion that a child cannot possibly consent to an elective, non-medically necessary, life-altering, highly invasive reconstructive surgery, and that it constitutes a grave violation of bodily autonomy. I say this with the recognition that this responsibility falls more with the parents and medical community as a whole than the individual surgeon.

Still, he didn't seem to have much consideration for what consent I could give and did not really talk things through. At one point i remember my mom asking me a question, and being so overwhelmed by the situation, I was so choked up i could barely choke out an answer. While again, this responsibility to recognize the discomfort here belongs more with the parents, that should've been a red flag for any doctor to slow this things down. For a procedure this big and consequential, I would expect a doctor to have a direct conversation with the patient, preferably without the parents in the room (unless that breaks some sort of procedural code), even if they are a child, but especially if they are a preteen.

I do partly feel bad disparaging this man's life work as I do believe he's coming from a good place, but I felt it was important to share my experience in case a parent reading this is considering the surgery for their child.

Katie Esterly — google_place

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