From the Jobsite to the OR: Mitchell’s Journey Through Facial Reconstruction

The brittle nature of terra cotta pipe requires extra finesse to cut. With 12 years of experience in the U.S. Navy as a combat constructionist and a skilled heavy equipment operator, Mitchell Corey was a professional who put safety first.

But even experts can have accidents. Serious accidents.

In May 2025, he was assigned to operate an industrial concrete saw in a 12-foot-deep hole, which was nothing out of the ordinary.

“I was cutting a terra cotta pipe,” Mitchell said. “And when I was cutting into it, something got pinched and the whole saw kicked all the way back.”

A split second later, the saw blade buckled. It flew out, tearing through Mitchell’s face. It caught him an inch below his left eye, cutting through his nose and to the upper right of his lip.

Unaware of what just happened, Mitchell turned around to find out what hit him and noticed his co-workers’ faces were going pale.

“I’m a heavy equipment operator, so I get banged around, but nothing like this,” Mitchell said. “I thought maybe it popped me, given the complexity of the guard.”

Initially, Mitchell put his hand to his face and saw no blood. As he was dismissing the possibility of injury, he reached for his face again, when suddenly a gush of blood rushed down his cheek. That’s when his memory became a little blurry.

“I don’t remember coming out of the hole,” Mitchell said. “I just climbed the ladder, I guess, and sat down outside. But I do remember looking down, and it’s just pouring blood.”

He urgently needed plastic surgery to reattach his nose.

Mitchell recalls being on the phone with his fiancée and glimpses of his ride in the ambulance.

After being taken to the UF Health Shands Emergency Room, Mitchell’s fiancée joined him. Traveling for an hour to be with him, she stayed by his side, during which he lost almost 3 pints of blood.

Mitchell was then sent to surgery. The repair of complex laceration and local tissue rearrangement of lip and nose, Nasal septal repair was successful, and Kalyan Dadireddy, MD, MS, MCh, was able to reattach his nose. Mitchell had sustained a severe lip injury that extended internally into the mouth and the floor of the nose on the opposite side. These were three-dimensional injuries, which made reconstruction particularly complex.

“I had over 200 stitches in my nose for around three to four weeks,” Mitchell said. “I’m satisfied with the results, but I do still have pain from my eyes all the way down to my gums, which is to be expected for another two months.”

Mitchell was able to return home the very next day after his surgery.

Although he’s only worked at his company for about a year, Mitchell has received an overwhelming amount of support from his colleagues. His co-workers, along with the company's co-owner, have regularly checked in on him, ensuring he doesn’t feel alone during his recovery.

“I’ve had some pretty awesome people reach out to me, all the way through,” Mitchell said. “I’ve got a great family there.”

Mitchell is grateful that the plastic surgery team at UF Health was able to save his nose, but he is still adapting to some changes with limited movement of his mouth and nose.

“It (the saw) ended up cutting the upper circle of my nose and face, which controls your lips, cheeks and whatnot,” Mitchell said. “It totally severed that, so I’m having difficulty breathing and completing some activities like blowing my nose or drinking out of a cup.”

Given the complexity of Mitchell’s injury and the reconstruction that was required to reattach his nose, there is still a possibility that he may need follow-up surgery. Further reconstruction, possibly involving cartilage grafting to rebuild part of his nose, may be necessary down the line.

Mitchell trusts the medical team at UF Health and remains positive as he recovers at home. He’s focused on his health while looking ahead to the future, which includes planning his wedding and returning to work, bringing joy and normalcy to an unexpected accident.

Mitchell credits UF Health’s plastic surgery team for helping him navigate through this stressful time.

“UF Health took the worry out,” Mitchell said. “They did an absolutely amazing job.”