Do I have a case against my dermatologist?
Recently saw a dermatologist to get what they categorized as a superficial lipoma removed on my face. They only visually inspected it at the initial consultation and recommended a "quick excision". Sounded simple enough. After cutting into my face, an incision of over 1 inch, they start to get nervous and tell me that the lipoma is actually working its way through my muscle and also says they are not sure if it is a cyst or a lipoma but that it is below the 4mm of the skin they can cut into. They apologize and while suturing me up tells me to go to the plastic surgeon where they can image the lipoma. They never mentioned imaging in the initial consultation.
So tl;dr I have a new scar on my face, still have the lipoma on my face and I have a bill for a surgery in which nothing was accomplished except for adding a nasty scar to my face.
I did not record any of this. However, I get my sutures out tomorrow and am thinking of recording the event. What things should I ask them/not say? Do I even have a case? I was clearly misdiagnosed even after being referred by my primary care doctor and will now require a surgery from a professional who will be more expensive and the scar will need to be cut into again and it will require general anesthesia and anesthetists are expensive.
Any advice would be appreciated. Location: Colorado.
Posted Jul 6, 2025, 7:32 PM UTC