Assistant Professor of Maxillofacial Surgery

Can someone please point me toward a good maxillofacial surgeon? I’ve heard some things about the local suburb and prof. Uglešić, but I’m wondering if I need to book a specific appointment or if I can just show up during his regular hours? I don't live in Washington, D.C., so traveling is a bit of a hassle. Also, if anyone here has dealt with cysts or tumors in the upper jaw area, please let me know!

Douglas King62 said:Can someone please point me toward a good maxillofacial surgeon? I’ve heard some things about the local suburb and prof. Uglešić, but I’m wondering if I need to book a specific appointment or if I can just show up during his regular hours? I don't live in Washington, D.C., so traveling is a bit of a hassle. Also, if anyone here has dealt with cysts or tumors in the upper jaw area, please let me know!

I have a bit of experience there... prof. Uglešić performed a procedure on me once and it was very successful. The best medical team is definitely located at the suburb hospital; that's where I went based on a recommendation. I'm not entirely sure how the scheduling works because I saw him through a doctor I personally know, but I'd assume it's best to call the hospital and ask when prof. Uglešić is on duty, then head in then. I also want to mention that Mr. Lukšić is great, he often operates alongside him too... 👍

My dad actually saw Mladen Dobrović just yesterday to have a lipoma removed from his neck. They had a quick phone consultation the day before, then he was seen right on schedule for the exam, and boom—he was already in surgery the very next day. He’s feeling zero pain and is honestly thrilled with how everything went. A colleague of his pointed him in this direction.
Since this guy's entire specialty revolves around the face and neck, I’d definitely recommend him; you might even want to check out this link: . Personally, I've seen some absolutely incredible surgical results from his work.

Thanks for the advice. I'm actually from San Francisco, and there isn't a real maxillofacial surgeon around here. I went to get two different opinions and they were totally different. The last one, Dr. Hodžić, recommended prof. Uglešić. He said he'd try to get in touch with him, though he warned me right away that it might be pretty hard to make that happen. Anyway, at the first exam, they found a palatal cyst in my oral cavity near tooth 7 on the upper left. They told me it needs to be surgically removed and that it’s benign. But then the second doctor said he couldn't tell if it was benign or malignant and insisted I should get a biopsy and just head to Washington, D.C. Honestly, I'm terrified that if he can't reach prof. Uglešić, I'll be stuck on my own. I'm only 24, and I really don't want some inexperienced person messing with this. Please, any info helps.

Douglas King62 said:Thanks for the advice. I'm actually from San Francisco, and there isn't a real maxillofacial surgeon around here. I went to get two different opinions and they were totally different. The last one, Dr. Hodžić, recommended prof. Uglešić. He said he'd try to get in touch with him, though he warned me right away that it might be pretty hard to make that happen. Anyway, at the first exam, they found a palatal cyst in my oral cavity near tooth 7 on the upper left. They told me it needs to be surgically removed and that it’s benign. But then the second doctor said he couldn't tell if it was benign or malignant and insisted I should get a biopsy and just head to Washington, D.C. Honestly, I'm terrified that if he can't reach prof. Uglešić, I'll be stuck on my own. I'm only 24, and I really don't want some inexperienced person messing with this. Please, any info helps.

Look, honey, in a situation like yours, nobody can give you sound medical advice except a specialist. So, grab a plane ticket, get to NYC, and keep badgering them until someone finally sees you. Sometimes the best move is just showing up at a hospital and demanding a doctor take your case. That’s how several situations in my own family were handled. I know you’re totally spiraling right now, but please, try not to let the anxiety consume you—you don't actually know what you're dealing with yet. (I'm telling you this from my own life experience.) If, God forbid, things turn out to be bad, there will be plenty of time to worry then. For now, just take it slow and stay calm, because if you panic, you'll lose your footing entirely. Everything will be brought under control and handled the best way possible.
All I can tell you bluntly is that it doesn't necessarily have to be anything sinister. Granulomas can turn into all sorts of cysts. No one can give you a 100% diagnosis without the necessary tests, but at the same time, I find it hard to believe that first doctor would be so quick to claim it isn't malignant unless he truly believes it based on his experience.
Come on, just stay brave and try to think about how you'll be looking back on this whole mess by this summer!

Thanks, Angela Wright. I’m still hanging in there, I guess, but honestly, getting hit with a different diagnosis every single time is just killing me. It keeps getting worse and worse, and the worst part? I feel like I've heard it all now. I was already thinking about heading up to Washington, D.C. no matter what, so I’ll probably call the suburb again to get some info and then make the trip up there this Wednesday since I saw online that prof. Uglešić is working then. What really gets me is people telling me this might be from my braces—but I wore both fixed and removable ones for almost ten years! I don't get why nobody warns you about potential complications. At the end of the day, I’d much rather have my health than perfect teeth. 😕

Douglas King62 said:Thanks, Angela Wright. I’m still hanging in there, I guess, but honestly, getting hit with a different diagnosis every single time is just killing me. It keeps getting worse and worse, and the worst part? I feel like I've heard it all now. I was already thinking about heading up to Washington, D.C. no matter what, so I’ll probably call the suburb again to get some info and then make the trip up there this Wednesday since I saw online that prof. Uglešić is working then. What really gets me is people telling me this might be from my braces—but I wore both fixed and removable ones for almost ten years! I don't get why nobody warns you about potential complications. At the end of the day, I’d much rather have my health than perfect teeth. 😕

prof. Uglešić is a top-tier expert (he's actually a San Francisco local), but maybe you don't even need a specialist of that caliber for this (it can be tough to get an appointment with them, and the case might not even be that intense—I'm just guessing since I haven't seen the situation myself). It could just be a cyst or some other routine issue. I'm not sure who gave you the diagnosis, but it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion from an oral surgeon first (I can recommend Radošević over on Rendić's Street at 098287967 or 021384921)

Žgaljardić
He handled my final lip revision after a cleft repair along with a few other things
highly recommend

Thanks so much, everyone. I finally got a hold of prof. Uglešić—thanks to a recommendation, obviously—and he is seriously amazing. He performed my surgery with help from Dr. Gregurević, who’s an oral surgeon, and honestly, those guys are total pros. All credit to them.
Anyway, I got my results back today and turns out it wasn't a tumor or a cyst at all, just some inflammation. I still get chills thinking about how they tried to twist my entire palate in San Francisco under general anesthesia just to make a diagnosis by sight without even doing a biopsy... meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., it was done under local anesthesia with just a tiny incision and barely any pain. Seriously, I have nothing but praise for the staff at the hospital in the suburb. Even Dr. Gregurević told me there wasn't even a visible cyst on my X-rays, yet in San Francisco, they were positive right away. Thank God I had so many good people helping me get my treatment in the suburb.
Bottom line, folks, if you can or have the chance, please go to Washington, D.C. for medical care.

Love hearing from people who are actually happy!!!!
Just goes to show we’ve got some top-tier experts right here in the States, too.

Douglas King62 said:Thanks so much, everyone. I finally got a hold of prof. Uglešić—thanks to a recommendation, obviously—and he is seriously amazing. He performed my surgery with help from Dr. Gregurević, who’s an oral surgeon, and honestly, those guys are total pros. All credit to them.
Anyway, I got my results back today and turns out it wasn't a tumor or a cyst at all, just some inflammation. I still get chills thinking about how they tried to twist my entire palate in San Francisco under general anesthesia just to make a diagnosis by sight without even doing a biopsy... meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., it was done under local anesthesia with just a tiny incision and barely any pain. Seriously, I have nothing but praise for the staff at the hospital in the suburb. Even Dr. Gregurević told me there wasn't even a visible cyst on my X-rays, yet in San Francisco, they were positive right away. Thank God I had so many good people helping me get my treatment in the suburb.
Bottom line, folks, if you can or have the chance, please go to Washington, D.C. for medical care.

See? And you were sitting there acting like such a fool.😬
Now she’s feeling all smug about being right.😉

Angela Wright, I swear, they should just build you from scratch—you’re such a huge help on this forum. Thank God everything turned out okay for me, but seriously, I felt even a tiny fraction of that terror when someone mentions a possible malignancy. Believe me, everything I used to think was actually important in my life just... vanished in a second. It’s hard to keep it that way, though, because life just keeps moving and new problems pop up, making you more selfish, I guess. It's sad, but maybe we only realize what matters when something truly hits us. Anyway, thanks again everyone.

Douglas King62 said:Angela Wright, I swear, they should just build you from scratch—you’re such a huge help on this forum. Thank God everything turned out okay for me, but seriously, I felt even a tiny fraction of that terror when someone mentions a possible malignancy. Believe me, everything I used to think was actually important in my life just... vanished in a second. It’s hard to keep it that way, though, because life just keeps moving and new problems pop up, making you more selfish, I guess. It's sad, but maybe we only realize what matters when something truly hits us. Anyway, thanks again everyone.

😍 😘

Honestly, I’m just so relieved everything turned out okay. You moved incredibly fast on this, which is great because everyone knows how long you usually have to wait based on recommendations. I actually know both of them—they ran my labs back when I was a student, and in my opinion, they are top-tier experts. Inflammation and stress can be such a massive headache, but the main thing is that it isn't malignant. Regarding the diagnosis, it’s notoriously difficult to pin down exactly what's happening based solely on an RTG, since different processes can look almost identical on film. I once had a patient who showed an atypical inflammatory process unlike anything I’d ever seen; then, by pure coincidence, at a professional seminar I had attended right before, the lecturer showed a nearly identical scan and admitted he was stumped because it turned out to be a metastasis from a primary tumor. Since my patient happened to be a friend, I felt more comfortable telling him that while it was possible, I needed to double-check with a specialist. Sometimes, it might feel better to stay quiet until you're 100% certain, and thank God it was just an atypical inflammatory process. But what if it wasn't? Personally, I believe that if things are unclear, it’s better to run extra tests and even jump to the worst-case scenario rather than holding back just to avoid scaring the patient. There have been cases where processes were malignant but were dismissed as mere inflammation, or people stayed silent just to avoid causing panic. And you can only imagine how those situations end up.

StZubar, I guess you're right that they should nail down a diagnosis before jumping into surgery, but honestly, that’s basically impossible at the STu. I mean, I heard their CT scanner is busted, and you’re stuck waiting days just for basic lab results before they'll even consider operating. Not to mention how much they lack specialists—most of them are totally unprofessional, with maybe a few exceptions. Anyway, you can see prof. Uglešić for an initial consult without a referral, but if you actually need surgery, I think you're going to be waiting. I was seriously lucky that he didn't just leave me in the hospital immediately after my exam, which, frankly, shocked me.
I agree that you have to prepare for the worst. It’s the only way people actually snap out of it. That’s what happened to me—once I heard how dangerous this could get, I finally decided to head to Washington, D.C., otherwise I would've just kept dragging my feet.
So, prof. Uglešić did a puncture on my parotid gland because he and Dr. Gregurević agreed right away that the thing on my palate looked super weird. Dr. Gregurević cleared up that swelling for me. They punctured the gland because, along with the swelling around my mouth, my neck was swollen too. But what really eats at me is that if you're just an average person without deep pockets and you're sick, you're basically left completely at the mercy of whoever is in charge.

I have a hemangioma on my cheek, and I notice everyone here is raving about prof. Uglešić. However, I’ve been scheduled to see Dr. Orihovac at a clinic out in the suburbs. Does anyone know anything about him? Is he any good, or should I try to request a different doctor? Please let me know, thanks!

Dee, don't even worry about being in the suburbs. Whoever performs your surgery is a total pro. I haven't heard of this specific doctor, but honestly, that's the top Maxillofacial Surgery department in the whole country, so I highly doubt some amateur would be working there. And look, if they aren't 100% sure about your case—kind of like what happened to me—the doctors actually talk to each other and consult. So, just stop stressing. I was reading up on hemangiomas online too, and apparently, they show up in babies all the time and get cleared out without any issues.

The_Dee just to clear things up, the head over at the suburb facility is Prof. Mišo Virag. Honestly, if you ask me, their Maxillofacial Surgery department is easily the best in the whole US. Dr. Željko Orihovac is a younger surgeon—maybe in his early 40s? I can't be certain—but he’s done an incredible amount of advanced training at top clinics in England, Germany, and Switzerland. Definitely highly recommended!🙂
Assistant Professor of Maxillofacial Surgery and a permanent court expert for MFK.

Thanks so much for the reply. I’ve read online that this mostly shows up in infants, but here I am dealing with it myself now. Honestly, the thought of surgery has me a little nervous, but I'm staying hopeful that everything will turn out fine. Thanks to everyone for the support—I'll be sure to post an update once it's all over. Best,

I’m digging this thread up from the archives just so I don't end up starting an identical one
So, here's the deal: I need jaw surgery, but I'm completely stuck on who to trust. Should I be looking at Dr. Miller or Dr. Stevens? Does anyone actually have any firsthand experience with either of them?