September 26, 2011
When Knowing Better Might Save Your Life (Part 1)
Three young mothers under the age of 40 are dead because they wanted to be beautiful. Kellee Lee-Howard wanted a slimmer body. Ditto Maria Shortall and Rohie Kah-Orukatan. Shortall worked as a housekeeper; Lee-Howard was the mother of six kids and Kah-Orukotan died at the same place where she received manicures. What do these women have in common besides being minorities? They had liposuction procedures performed by men who offered a discounted price for an elective surgical procedure. These men professed to be competent in performing the procedures but never had accredited training.
I knew this day was coming. I saw the storm long before the clouds emerged. As the insurance payments for professional medical services decreased and declined, physicians began to look for alternative ways to earn money. But was it ethical? Gynecologists began to do liposuctions. General surgeons did breast augmentations. Some primary care physicians abandoned seeing patients altogether and opted to do chemical peels and weight loss treatments. Medical spas were added to traditional medical practices. Everyone wanted to cash in on a woman’s desire to be beautiful. Physicians were now business owners and entrepreneurs. However, could they attend a weekend seminar and returns to their offices on Monday ready to do the procedures? Were they really as competent as a plastic surgeon who had five years of training?
Jayne O’Donnell recently published an expose about these doctors in USA Today entitled Lack of Training in Cosmetic Surgery Can Be Deadly. It reads like a litany of horror. The physician who performed Kah-Orukotan’s liposuction was an Occupational Health physician. He didn’t have the proper equipment in his office nor was the procedure approved for office surgery. Shortall and Lee-Howard’s physician did an internship in pediatrics, another internship and residency in general surgery but never got board certified in the 27 years that he has practiced medicine. Had these ladies accessed the Florida Board of Medicine website and looked up their physician, they would have noted the $350,000 settlement in 2004. They would have also noted the absence of board certification, the absence of plastic surgical training and the absence of privileges to admit to a hospital.
All three women died from complications of anesthesia. They had received too much lidocaine which is a numbing medicine given by injection prior to a surgical procedure. Too much lidocaine can also stop the heart. These deaths should have never happened.
In Part 2 of this blog, you will learn what can be done to avoid becoming a victim of a preventable medical mistake. The life you save could be your own.
Rxdoc said,
November 28, 2011 at 12:23 am
You might want to check the results of Autopsy reports, because not all of these women died from lidocaine toxicity. The report release said that Maria Shortall died from a fat embolism. And one of the other women died at home. The elimination half-life of lidocaine is 1.5-2 hrs unless there is liver empairment, so one has to believe that either the poly-drug combo in her system was based upon the body’s ability to metabolize the lidocaine or was more pain medication taken than instructed. Nobody deserves to die for any procedure. I did my research on Dr Saint Antonio on just more than the florida dept of health, I went back to his previous practice state then I asked him about what happened to make sure he would be honest with me and he was. I knew the risks that I was taking and actually went two days after the lady had died. You see I had a physical done before this procedure and had lidocaine administered to me before for a suture procedure. People have to take responsibility for the decisions they make. I feel I made a cognitive decision and love my results. I pray for those women families but I also know he is a caring and very capable doctor. Yes some logistics need to be addressed as I’m sure they already are.
drlindagalloway said,
November 28, 2011 at 3:34 am
Are you disputing the facts stated in USA Today? And if so, would you care to share the autopsy reports? Whether Ms. Shortall died from lidocaine toxicity or fat embolism is somewhat immaterial. She’s dead. She had a procedure done by a physician who had no formal training in plastic surgery and was cited for a previous malpractice issue. You’re very fortunate and it sounds like you might be a physician or a healthcare provider. Ms. Shortall was a housekeeper. Perhaps extra measures were taken during your procedure. They certainly weren’t with Ms. Shortall. Thanks for your comments.