Liposuction puts Woman in a Coma at Florida Day Spa
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In Weston, Florida, on Friday September 25th, Rohie Kah-Orukotan, age 37, went into a coma after a “routine liposuction” procedure at Weston Medspa, according to the Miami Hearald news source. Kah-Orukotan was a nurse, mother of three, and a regular customer of this Medspa for five years. The doctor who performed the surgery was Dr. Omar J. Brito, a licensed doctor, and his attorney Brian Biber commented for Brito sited by Belleville News sources:
"She went in for a routine liposuction ... performed by Dr. Brito without any complications until the very end, at which time Dr. Brito immediately administered emergency care and called 911," Bieber said. "Paramedics arrived; they noted all emergency procedures put into place were proper."
Though Brito is a licensed doctor he “is not board-certified or trained in plastic surgery; his background is in occupational medicine, records show.” He received his medical degree in Bogota, Colombia.
An interesting fact for consumers to note is the privately owned Weston Medspa according to Florida officials “is not licensed to perform liposuctions under general anesthesia, but could do a scaled-down version using a local anesthetic that keeps the patient awake. Bieber said he did not know which type of liposuction was performed.”
Bieber also said, "The obtaining of the appropriate licensing is the responsibility of the owner. (Brito) did not know (it wasn't licensed for office surgery)."
Consumers purchasing these types of services need to ask questions about licensing and to dig deeper than just assuming they wouldn't be doing it if it weren't legal for them to do this procedure.
History of Dr. Brito reported by Belleville News is that “In 2006, the medical board fined him $5,000 and ordered him to perform community service for his role in an insurance fraud scheme, state records show.”
Kah-Orukotan went in for what a medical consultant believed to have been a “light liposuction” treatment which, while awake the anesthetic lidocaine is administered, then a laser is placed under the skin to “to liquefy fat tissue, which is then removed.” The use of lidocaine, Dr. Brett Coldiron, a Cincinnati dermatologist who has studied cosmetic surgeries said it, can result in seizures if an excessive amount is used, and also a patient could have an allergic reaction to it. The woman’s attorney, Michael Freedland, “said Kah-Orukotan has bruises on her back from seizures, and `a lot of damage to a lot of her body.''”
This woman was put in a coma because of this treatment, and then kept alive by life-support. The family had to decide whether to keep her on life-support and her husband, Joseph Orukotan, “declined to comment on his impending decision” reported the Miami Herald. Who can blame him, this is a tough decision to make and why would anyone want to discuss it publicly.
This incident has re-sparked the discussion over Medspas that have caused concern over many years. The Belleville News De reported that stricter rules at clinics are being discussed because, “Medspas are largely unregulated and often expand their services beyond what some consider safe, said Fort Lauderdale surgeon Robert Cline, chairman of a surgical quality committee for the Florida Board of Medicine.” Cline said ‘"They have a lot of nonphysicians doing services doctors should do. Obviously this case is going to cause a lot of concern. We will be investigating it and trying to come up with some regulations.’”
This case will initiate plenty of questions concerning these cosmetic clinics, and hopefully new regulations which help create a safe and legitimate environment for their patients. Patients should be aware that efforts to pass "tort reform" measures will certainly increase this type of problem and reduce any monetary recourse available to those who suffer an injury.