This past weekend we celebrated the first anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. And, what better time to look at some of the things we have learned from his death. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled that Michael Jackson died from an overdose of the anesthetic drug, Propofol. Because the drug cannot be administered to oneself, amongst other reasons, Michael Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide. How could this happen?
We asked the same questions in the Weston Med Spa case. For Joe Orukotan, the widower of Rohe Kah-Orukotan, the anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death also serves as a painful reminder of his loss. As you may recall, last October, Ms. Kah-Orukotan was pronounced brain dead shortly after a routine liposuction procedure performed by Dr. Omar Brito at the Weston Med Spa in Weston, Florida. Ms. Orukotan’s death was also found by the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office to be caused by, amongst other things, excessive and improper administration of anesthetic drugs, including Propofol during her surgery. A wrongful death case against the Weston Med Spa and Dr. Brito has been instituted by Freedland Russo. Fortunately, Dr. Brito surrendered his license to practice medicine in March of this year and will never administer another drug to another patient.
But the Michael Jackson and Rohe Kah-Orukotan cases reveal a bigger problem. Every year, hundreds, if not thousands of patients nationwide are victimized by the excessive and improper administration of drugs. Most do not get headlines and many occur in a surgical setting. And we still ask why and how this happens?
Could it be the proliferation of plastic surgery? Bigger, better and more. The need for immediate results? You need only watch the countless reality TV shows to see housewives from New York and New Jersey to Atlanta and Los Angeles, undergoing any surgery that promises to help them look younger and better than their neighbor. There are those that will blame the patients. That is of course, until and unless of it is one of them or their loved one. Others blame the surgeons who have become like salespeople pedaling promissory surgical procedures like they were expensive handbags on sale. The only problem is that you cannot return a defective surgery, and certainly not an anesthetic overdose.
Our writers have been accused of attacking doctors on numerous occasions. Maybe that is true. But, doctors, like lawyers and other professional have an ethical obligation to those hiring them for their services. Too many times we see doctors and lawyers more concerned with lining their pockets than honoring and adhering to their ethical obligations. Doctors, remember the Hippocratic Oath…”never do harm”… Mass advertising, infomercials and reality TV shows have turned the services of professionals into fast food, profit turning, bottom-line businesses!
Blaming society is not the solution; it is part of the problem. Professionals need to stand up and act like professionals. When your vocation entails the handling of lives and not handbags, you will be held to a higher standard. If you don’t like it, go open a fast food restaurant!
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Agreed. Doctors need to take responsibility for the results of their actions, good or bad. When patients trust them with their lives and put themselves into the hands of their doctors the doctor must understand that if something goes wrong they can't just throw up their hands and say, Oh well, too bad, stuff happens. We all know that medicine is not an exact science, but it certainly is exact enough so that mistakes like this should never happen.
ReplyDeleteMost of all doctors must stop covering up for other doctors whom they know are incompetent. It's like the church hiding pedophiles.