Details Concerning Impaired Boston Plastic Surgeon Liposuction Case Come To Light
Michael Hicks, a former mortgage broker of Quincy, Massachusetts has filed a civil suit against Boston plastic surgeon Dr. Loren J. Borud and Beth Israel Medical Center, due to "bleeding, pain and emotional turmoil" that he suffered as a result of a June 27 skin excision and scar revision procedure performed by Dr. Borud.
The Boston Herald is reporting that along with the lawsuit, certain allegations have been made public that shed light on the doctor's impairment issue, an incident that prompted his termination from the Harvard affiliated hospital on July 18th.
Hicks, the patient and plaintiff in this case was under the impression that his surgery would take about 90 minutes at the most.
Within the first 2 hours of the operation, as Hicks was under heavy anesthesia, Dr. Borud nodded off twice. Each time, hospital staff roused him and attempted to keep him focused.
Afterwards, the doctor started making marks on the side of Hicks' body. It was the side that he had already operated on.
At 1 p.m. Borud left the operating room, leaving Hicks' abdomen open and a less experienced doctor to finish the procedure, culminating by 5:08 pm. While the less experienced physician finished the procedure, Dr. Borud gave a false post-operative dictation stating that the patient was "awake, alert and stable," which he signed the following day.
Hicks was under anesthesia for nearly 7 hours and when he awoke, he inquired about the disproportionate condition of his chest. Nurses told him it was a normal side effect. During the ten days following, Hicks' kept in contact with Borud's office and complained of adverse side effects like chills, pain and bleeding in the left side of his chest.
After a trip to his local ER led to a diagnosis of post-operative Hematoma, (a condition that consists of pooling of blood under the skin) Hicks was able to follow up at Beth Israel where a doctor drained two liters of fluid from his chest.
When the Boston Herald inquired about Dr. Borud's impairment issues, the administration at Beth Israel apparently went into damage control mode, called Hicks to inform him of the negative media coverage surrounding the highly decorated surgeon, but still disclosed few, if any, details about his impairment. Apparently, it was only this instance that gave Hicks' any clue of what transpired during his surgery.
Mr. Hicks and his legal representation claim that the reason for the lawsuit is the hospital's failure to apologize or be "open, transparent and respectful" of him during such a harrowing experience.
The case presents a certain element of irony, given Dr. Borud's reputation as a doctor who once appeared on Dateline criticizing third rate plastic surgeons practicing abroad and Beth Israel CEO Paul Levy's blog, which frequently emphasizes the importance of transparency within the doctor-patient relationship. Levy declined to give the press any details about the case but this entry from his blog might give you an idea why.
In reference to the sensitivity of malpractice cases and the media scrutiny of such cases he says "this, in fact, is why doctors and hospitals often don't like to talk about this stuff. Fundamentally, they don't want to be judged by the general public and the media, whom they deem to be unqualified observers of the medical scene."
Kristin Meyer for Real Beauty News
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