From August 2006 to May 2007

These were my symptoms:  I had the feeling of a 1” knife in my gums above tooth #5 located on the right side of my face and right next to where I had one of my bone grafts. I had a low-grade fever, fatigue, swelling in my right cheek and top lip, the feeling of being pinched in my right cheek every time I tried to smile and difficultly with my speech.

From February to May 2007

The following doctors listed below are located in San Antonio, Texas

In addition to the above, I had a lump the size of a 50 cent piece in my right cheek and all of my joints were hurting.

It started in August of 2006 with Henry G. Schonenberg DDS who gave me a complete exam and recommended I go to John C Parsons DDS, at Parsons & Dacy for bone grafts and implants. I had the bone graft surgery and then required 3 more surgeries for infection-all within 20 days. A fistula ( an abnormal passage leading from an abscess to the body surface) formed next to tooth #5.  Dr. Parsons never cultured the infection. The biopsy results I got later showed the antibiotics Dr. Parsons prescribed did not work on the staph infection I had.   Dr. Schonenberg and Dr. Parsons kept implying I was just an unhealthy person.  Dr. Parsons did not return my emergency call once for 4 days and another time for 2 days on the emergency number he gave me.  When he did return my calls I required surgery.  Here is a photo of the swelling in my face that was taken 2 days after surgery when I could open my eyes and a picture of my mouth after Dr. Parsons’s surgeries.  Dr. Parsons did refund my money for the bone grafts.

*Dr. John C. Parsons* has a new location IDP 248 N. Main Street, Boerne, Texas.

On 10/10/06   I  went to Alamo Maxillofacial Surgical Associates, Dr. James E. Franco DDS., MD,  and begged for help. I was denied antibiotics and was told I had developed a psychological need for them.  When I told him I was still running fever after 2 months from Parson’s surgeries he told me to take an aspirin.  

On 10/27//06  I went to the private office of David G. Leibold DDS. MD. Dr. Parsons stated that he was the Department head of the Oral Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center Dental School.  He assured me Dr. Parsons did nothing wrong I pleaded but was denied antibiotics and told nothing was wrong with me.

On 11/3/06 I went to Chang’s Acuputure located on West Avenue seeking help with the pain I was in and he advised me I needed to get immediate medical care and that I had a bad infection. 

11/9/06 I went back to Alamo Maxillofacial Associates, Dr. James E. Franco DDS., MD. and begged for antibiotics I offered to do an Irish jig in the corner , scream or cry whatever it would take just please give me some antibiotics. He again told me it was all in my head and he refused to give me any antibiotics. To get me to leave he ordered a CT scan. I told him I had already had one and it did not show a problem. I again had one with the same results. I did any test that a doctor would order.

11/14/06  I went to San Pedro Facial Surgery, Dr. Robert Lemke DDS. MD.  I now had cracking in my head. After I refused to get out of the chair with his many attempts to assure me nothing was wrong with me, he agreed to do a biopsy on my cheeks. The biopsy showed I had a staph infection in my right cheek.  I took antibiotics for 2 ½ months with some improvement.

On 12/3/06 I again went back to Dr. Leibold with a copy of my biopsy test results that showed I had a staph infection in my face to see if he could figure out what was causing the infection. I was stunned when he remarked that he did not understand how I obtained those test results and that Dr. Lemke had no grounds that would have been acceptable before the board to have performed a biopsy. I left there knowing he was not interested in finding what was causing the staph infection.

1/24/07 I was off my antibiotics for 4 days and my lip and cheek started swelling. I went to see Dr. Robert Lemke and he decided to do surgery. Before I agreed to the surgery Dr. Lemke took my hand and promised me he believed me when I said I was sick and he would be their for me if I had a problem.

1/25/07 I go to Dr. Henry Schonenberg and he assures me and Dr. Lemke that nothing is wrong with tooth #5.

2/05/07 Dr. Lemke performed sinus surgery when I believed he was doing a bone biopsy. When making the incision into my right cheek brown fluid seeped out. No culture was done of that fluid. Dr. Lemke sent me home knowing I had no antibiotics on hand and without a prescription for any antibiotics.

2/12/07  I came back to Dr. Lemke's office sicker than I had ever been in my life. I begged and pleaded for help and antibiotics but was denied.   I was told nothing was wrong and he quickly left the room. Later his assistant came to help me out of the chair and to the door because I was so sick and weak. 

2/23/07 I called Dr. Lemke’s office. I was in very bad shape and was having a very hard time pronouncing my words.  I cried, pleaded and begged for help and all they could tell me was he was out. Dr. Lemke has 2 other doctors that work in that office but they were unavailable for me.

I then called Dr Henry Schonenberg pleading for help & antibiotics but he refused to help me and told me to call Dr. Lemke.

I called Dr. Lemke’s office again. I received a call back 2 hours later saying they would call in a prescription for 10 day of antibiotics and I was to call back the following week for an appointment. 

The staph is now systemic throughout my body. I am now in a real hell hole.

Dr. Robert Lemke also has an office at Hill Country Dental Specialist @ 12274 Bandera Rd. Helotes, Tx and a new location at Aesthetic Dental Associates 804 N. Main Street Boerne, Tx.

Dr. Schonenberg saw me at least 25 times, many of the visits to make a new or repair the poorly designed  temporary teeth that cost me over $2,000.00, and he repeatedly assured me nothing was wrong with tooth #5.  I had the opportunity to see my file in February 2007 at Dr. Henry Schonenberg’s office. At that time it was 5 pages long and Dr. Schonenberg and I looked at the several x-rays he had taken of tooth #5. When he turned over my file to me it was 1-½ pages long. Many of the visits, a bridge and x-rays were no longer recorded in my file. On my last visit to Dr. Schonenberg’s office he stood in the hallway of his office and loudly told me he was sick and tired of telling me nothing was wrong with me. I wonder if he or his wife had a decayed, abscessed tooth with systemic staph if it would be nothing. 

In February 2007  Dr. John Cantu, my primary care doctor, sent me to Dr. Robert A. Zajac at Responsive Infectious Diseases Solutions who was wonderful.  He gave me a prescription for 3 months of antibiotics without ever begging. This doctor who is not in the dental field took one look at me and remarked that I had a swollen face. He was the first doctor to notice!!!!  I thought this man was JESUS!!!  His office guided me to get checked out by other dentists and see if I did have an abscessed tooth that was causing my problems.  Dr. Robert Busby x-rayed tooth #5 and said it was decayed and abscessed.  I also had Dr. Kurt Meyers confirm that the tooth needed to be removed.  4 days after I had my tooth removed the lump in my face was gone and I started the long road back.

****  I could almost forgive the doctors misdiagnosing me but I will be haunted till my death remembering pleading and begging for help and being denied antibiotics. I will never forget their total lack of humanity. 

I am now terrified of dentists and with a temporary bridge, I needed to find a dentist to make me a permanent dental solution.  I went to the Masters Dental Group located at 7400 Blanco Road and there I found outstanding dental care. Dr. Lisa Masters who was listed in a 2008 Texas Monthly as the best in Periodontics was able to make my mouth look  more normal then I thought possible.

Dr. Masters placed 4 dental implants at 1:00 on a Monday and I was bowling at 9:00 am the following morning. I had very little swelling and the discomfort was managed with a whole Aleve.

Dr. Lisa Masters also performed surgery to loosen the scar tissue from Dr. Parsons’s surgeries so that I no longer felt that I had a ½ inch rubber band taut in my mouth. Dr. Masters also removed part of the roof of my mouth and grafted it onto my gums.  

Dr. Victoria Vickers is also with the Masters Dental Group and she is a Prosthodontics Specialist and she too has given me outstanding care.  The quality of her temporary removable partial denture (flipper) from the fit to the aesthetic look is top notch. No one that sees me would ever think that these are not my teeth.  I am still in the process of getting my permanent dentures but I do feel they have brought me out of my hell hole and I would highly recommend them if you need dental work.

The following  pictures show the 4 implants that Dr. Lisa Masters placed and that I have had all but my 2 back teeth removed.  Dr. Vickers and Dr. Lisa Masters gave me several choices as to how they could solve giving me a cosmetic and practical solution to my dental needs.  The implants with a full denture was the best solution for me with everything that I had gone through and would be the best cosmetically.

I truly believe had I come to them first I would still have my teeth with implants, no residual swelling in my right cheek and my smile.

It is my understanding that the care I received is an acceptable standard of care and I can not sue these doctors. Today Texas really no longer has Medical Malpractice and you need to be your own advocate for your health care. I was advised by a doctor that I should have told the Oral Maxillofacial doctors that I had the bone graft surgery and infection in Mexico.

I wish I could say I would not wish this experience on anyone but that would be a lie.  I wonder, if these doctors experienced what they put me through, would they not come out better doctors.

Thank you for reading my story.

Pam Grunwald