David Hlebasko was a few hours into minor surgery to remove cysts and a mole from his face and head when the unthinkable happened.

A flash-oxygen fire, apparently sparked during cauterization, partially burned his hair, skin and eye area, according to an operative report issued June 6 by Dr. Demetrios Katsaros, a surgeon with the MultiCare Physician Center in Merrillville.

"His face started melting," his wife, Jennifer Hlebasko, said of the multiple injuries her husband suffered.

The St. John Township couple, parents of six children including a 5-month-old baby, say the incident has completely changed their lives, particularly because the family's main breadwinner has not been able to return to his job at BP in Whiting.

"I had a bad feeling when he went out the door that morning. ... I should have gone with my gut feelings and everything would have been fine," she said of her 36-year-old husband's surgery.

The bad feelings centered on a day that would start out with the early morning surgery in Merrillville. About 24 hours later, Hlebasko was taken by his parents to the University of Chicago Hospitals' burn unit where he would remain for the next 11 days.

He said his parents, who were in the waiting room during the surgery, weren't immediately told about the flash fire and were told to go to lunch even after his face had been burned.

When released by the MultiCare staff, Hlebasko said his parents initially took him to a Valparaiso eye doctor to have his vision checked, then to Saint Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point.

It was staff at Saint Anthony that determined his burns were such that he should go to the University of Chicago Hospitals for treatment.

"It was a long day," Hlebasko recalls, his face, nearly a month after the surgery, still blotchy red from the burns he suffered.

While at the University of Chicago Hospitals, he underwent painful hydrotherapy and cleaning treatments, and later skin grafting for the second- and third-degree burns he suffered.

At a recent return visit to the hospital, he had stitches removed and learned he faces additional surgery in about three months.

"I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy," he said.

Merrillville attorney Marshall Whalley said he is preparing a medical malpractice lawsuit, naming all those involved in the June 6 surgery. It will be filed with the Indiana Department of Insurance prior to being filed in court.

He said he also will consider filing a lawsuit in connection with the product that could have contributed to the flash fire.

"We're looking at covering all the angles. We want to make sure we include all those who are responsible," he said.

Repeated calls to Katsaros at MultiCare Physician Center in Merrillville weren't returned.

The Hlebaskos credit their immediate family and friends at Laurel Church in Merrillville with helping them through the tough times.

Hlebasko said the physical, mental and emotional trauma he has experienced during the past month has been extensive and he wants this incident exposed.

"We don't want this to happen to anyone else," he said.