Death from cosmetic surgery

[wylie]

What a shame that vanity allowed someone to risk their life in the hands of a questionable surgeon. Some surgeries are not only invasive they can be dangerous Sounds like this Doctor does not have a good reputation and was recommended to have his license suspended. I doubt cost could have even been an issue here, so why not the best?

 

LOS ANGELES - An autopsy was scheduled for the mother of Kanye West after preliminary information suggested she died of surgical complications, a coroner's investigator said Monday.

 

According to TMZ.com and Access Hollywood, West had contacted Dr. Andre Aboolian of Beverly Hills in June to discuss a tummy tuck and breast reduction.

 

"She was interested in some cosmetic procedures and we had discussed that in order for her to go through with the procedures, which she was a good candidate for, she needed what's called a medical clearance, which just about anybody over the age of 40 is required to have," Dr. Aboolian explained to Access. "Because of Donda's age, she was required to get some cardiac clearance to make sure her heart is in good shape to go through for the surgery."

 

West died Saturday night at age 58 at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina del Rey, where paramedics took her after she stopped breathing at her home, according to Deborah Ettinger, a hospital vice president.

 

A spokesperson for the hospital also told Access Hollywood, "Donda West was brought into the emergency room at Centinela. She was unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. They tried to revive her and were unsuccessful."

 

Preliminary information indicated she died from "complications of surgery," Lt. Fred Corral told The Associated Press. An autopsy was expected to be conducted by Wednesday, Corral said.

 

"Kanye West, his family and friends would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and kind words that have come in from across the country since the death of his mother," publicist Maureen O'Connor said in a statement. Reached by phone, she declined to provide details on West's death.

 

Patricia Green, a consultant who has worked as a publicist for West in the past, had previously told news agencies that West died after cosmetic surgery. She backed away from those comments in later interviews with the AP, saying she was not sure of the cause because she had received conflicting information.

 

"I spoke to her about two weeks ago and she was supposed to see the internist for the medical clearance, the internist that I had recommended, that I work with," Aboolian added. "But she never followed through as far as I know."

 

Aboolian was concerned about a condition West had that may cause a heart attack during surgery, said Jo-Ann Geffen, the surgeon's publicist, declining to elaborate because of patient privacy rights.

 

Geffen said she didn't know if West had cosmetic surgery elsewhere.

 

In an interview with TMZ.com, Dr. Jan Adams revealed that he performed cosmetic procedures on West before she died. Adams said that West had consulted with him over a period of four months, and that she changed her mind numerous times before finally greenlighting the surgeries.

 

Adams also claimed that he did nothing wrong and shared with TMZ his opinion of Aboolian. "He is sleazy and manipulating the truth to elevate his own importance," said Adams. West was known for the strong bond she shared with her hip-hop star son. She was often seen by his side at parties and award shows. Kanye West often spoke of his close relationship with his mother, who raised him alone after her husband left when Kanye was 3.

 

The former chairwoman of Chicago State University's English department, Donda West served as chief executive of West Brands LLC, the parent company of her son's business enterprises. She also was chairwoman of the Kanye West Foundation, an educational nonprofit that works to decrease dropout rates and improve literacy.

 

 

[Perfect Fit]

Interesting post. Just highlights the fact that elective surgery is not to be taken lightly.

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

Unfortunately, complications occur in even the best hands. Idiosyncratic reactions have been reported albeit rarely. All surgeries carry a risk and patients should be well informed.

Ricardo Mejia MD

Jupiter Dermatology and Hair Restoration

[MrJobi]

there are always risks with surgery and this is why someone needs to consider all factors before getting a HT.

[chucky]

on the drs disclaimer when the question is asked

are you allergic to whatever, say the local anaesthetic and you`ve never had a local before,what happens then.

if you do have a reaction do the drs have a first aider available during surgery or is this the risk you take.

[bbuntyb]

Hello Guys,

 

I had my my first hair transplant in april 2007 and the next one has been planned for dec 2007. After reading this article, I am scared whether I should have my next hair transplant.

 

Please do advice on this.

 

Regards,

Bunty

[wylie]

Originally posted by bbuntyb:

Hello Guys,

 

I had my my first hair transplant in april 2007 and the next one has been planned for dec 2007. After reading this article, I am scared whether I should have my next hair transplant.

 

Please do advice on this.

 

Regards,

Bunty

 

Dont compare apples to oranges. You have nothing to worry about (as long as you choose the right surgeon, of course)

 

Go for it.

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

If I believe everything I read in the newspaper and think it will happen to me, I would be afraid to walk out the front door.

 

Unfortunately, we live in a society where we always do not know the details of a story irrespective of a good or bad outcome. Threfore, I would be very careful in interpreting what is posted. Yes it is a shame the patient died. On the other hand, do we know anything about the patient, is she a smoker, an alcoholic, a diabetic, was she on coumadin a blood thinner that can lead to bleeding complications. There are too many unknown factors that increase the risk of a complication to pass judgement.

 

In no way am I trying to defend the doctor, but rather point out the unknown possibilities and facts which we are not aware of.

If any of the members who advocate their hair doctor on this site learned their doctor had an inexplicable patient death from a hair transplant, would he automatically be a sleazy terrible doctor? Every coalition doctor that is recommended has the potential for an unknown unforseen complication. We all try to minimize the risks and complications by constant learning, education and knowledge that assures our patient safety first. We are fortunatethey they have not occured. Yet any surgery no matter how little has risks.

Choosing a well qualified, board certified physician experienced in the field of hair restoration surgery and screened by this site should give you additional comfort in your choices.

 

Ricardo MEjia MD

Jupiter FL

 

P.S. A small personal vignette to illustrate my case. Many years ago I was scheduled to perform a skin cancer surgery on the scalp of a middle aged man. He never showed for his appointment. I called his house to advise him of his missed appointment. His wife informed me he died that morning of a massive heart attack. Now imagine if his heart decided to wait a couple of extra hours, and he showed up for his appointment. There is the possibility he could have died of the same heart attack in my office or worse during surgery and yet, I had nothing to do with it.

[wylie]

Well, thats an interesting story you present, and the very thought of a HT surgery being equal to the risks of her tummy tuck/liposuction is indeed an absurd comparison, and agreed, there were risks involved with this woman, Ms. West. What I find most interesting about this story (and I hate celebrity news/reporting but this story was more than that, its tragic and also highlights the risks of more invasive procedures) this woman had been turned down for surger before, showing that the risks were evident to at least one other doctor, and another interesting tidbit about the doctor who performed the surgery, California was recommending suspending his medical license for multiple DUI's, which strikes me as, again, the apples and oranges comparison.

 

What does his driving record have to do with practicing cosmetic surgery, must one adhere to some sort of higher standard than us ordinary mortals who likely would not lose their jobs for multiple DUI's? (Well, some of us)

 

It's not like a drivers license is needed to perform liposuction and be on Oprah Winfrey. And the Dr. Adams response towards the other surgeon was indicative of someone who had other issues as well.

[wylie]

Originally posted by bbuntyb:

Hello Guys,

 

I had my my first hair transplant in april 2007 and the next one has been planned for dec 2007. After reading this article, I am scared whether I should have my next hair transplant.

 

Please do advice on this.

 

Regards,

Bunty

 

After rereading this, I think you were bullsh*tting me the first time.

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

I Agree with you on all points.

[bbuntyb]

Originally posted by wylie:

Originally posted by bbuntyb:

Hello Guys,

 

I had my my first hair transplant in april 2007 and the next one has been planned for dec 2007. After reading this article, I am scared whether I should have my next hair transplant.

 

Please do advice on this.

 

Regards,

Bunty

 

After rereading this, I think you were bullsh*tting me the first time.

 

I did have my first hair transplant in apr 2007.

You can check the link at http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=144471 .

[MrJobi]

Yes,

 

Fortunately a HT is minimally invasive as compared to some other procedures.

[chucky]

what happens though if you have a reaction to the anaesthetic.do they have first aiders or do they just ring 911.

[notgoing2gobald]

I died during mine...

[Aquarius]

I guess this guy had the invasive hair job.

 

http://malpractice.worldwidewarning.net/www/archives/47

 

I wonder if .

[chucky]

thats scary aquarius,i wonder whats happening with that case.

[Aquarius]

nothing...

[wylie]

Died of an overdose of anathestic. I take it that someone other than the doctor was responsible for administering the overdose. Just a guess.

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

This case is very interesting. It is difficult to interpret the facts of a case or jump to conclusions without in depth understanding of this persons medical history knowledge and details of the case other than what is reported.

 

"A 52-year-old Southern California man who died during a routine hair transplant procedure was administered three times the normal dosage of lidocaine, a local anesthetic, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by his widow.... Within an hour of going in he was dead."

 

While it APPEARS and is written the patient had an overdose, we really do not know what happened. As I illustrated in my post above, I myself could have been victim to an alleged lawsuit if my patient decided to wait an extra hour or two to have his heart attack.

 

However, let us look at what is reported.

1. The death occured within an hour of arriving at the clinic. From all of you who have had a hair transplant, how many of you recall being anesthetized that quickly. Usually, in my office, we have another consult to review the plan, mark the areas, cut and shave the appropriate areas of hair , take photos. By the time we are ready to go depending on patient questions etc, it could take an extra 30 min to one hour before anesthesia.

 

2. Within the first hour, most hair transplant physicians are anesthetizing only the donor area and removing the donor area.

 

3. Three times the normal dose of lidocaine:... hhmm. Physicians are aware of what the maximum limit is. Generally, it is approx 25 ml of 2% lidocaine with epinephrine or 50 ml of 1% lidocaine with epi or even more volume if you are using diluted tumescent type solutions. Assuming you used a concentrated solution, that would be 75 ml of 2% lidocaine to be administered in the first 1 hour. This is a huge amount especially since the first part of the procedure is to anesthetize the donor area. If this were true, yes there is a case for malpractice. But it does not make sense from a physicians standpoint in the first hour. If it was a long 12-hour megasession, maybe. . Generally most physicians use volumes in the order of 6-12 ml of diluted solutions 1% or less to anesthetize the donor area. Some do use volumes of 50 to 100 ml of saline or salt water to super tumesce the donor area. .If the allegations are correct, a serious error had to have occurred where 2% lidocaine was used instead of saline and they were supertumescing the donor area. This is the only way I can conceivably see this error from occurring and it is hard to imagine. Most physicians have protocols in place to prevent fatal errors.

 

It is unfortunate this happened irrespective of the cause or error. It is important to recognize that any procedure carries risks. Chucky, we do have emergency protocols should a patient have a bad reaction other than just dialing 911. In my office,we do have a "crash cart", automatic defribillator, oxygen and I am trained in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Measures. Most physicians do the same and at our conferences we do review emergency protocols.

 

Ricardo Mejia MD, FAAD

Hair Transplant Network Physician

Jupiter FL

[PCC]

I am an EMT and epinephrine and lidocaine are front line cardiac drugs in emergency settings. Repeated doses of epinephrine are administered in cardiac arrests in an attempt to stimulate the heart. Lidocaine is used to stabilize a variety of irregular heart rhythms(arrythmias). In addition to being administered through an IV, these drugs can also be squirted down an endotracheal tube for direct access to the lungs and then into the body's circulation.

 

Epinephrine is also used to treat severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) and acts as a vasoconstrictor. It is the ingredient in those "epi pens" that people suspectible to such conditions carry.

 

Phil

[chucky]

hi dr mejia

thanks for the detailed reply

i`m not concerned for myself re allergic reactions,i was just curious.

i only get a bad reaction when i`ve got to hand my money over

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

Chucky:

 

I would recommend you take some benadryl every time you reach for your wallet.

[Guest eyebrow]

Aside from the actual procedure, it is beyond imperative that any surgeon or even dentist doing minor surgery knows every medication in your regimen. I know of sad tales...

[Dr. William Lindsey]

Dr. Mejia,

 

As a Facial Plastic Surgeon who does hair and lifts in Virginia, I think you gave a great potential explanation of anesthesia dosages and toxicity. Right out of a lecture. Good job, and good reassurance.

 

William Lindsey MD Reston VA