A doctor who conducted a Lap-Band procedure on a Lawndale woman that died shortly after is under investigation. The Medical Board of California is assessing the care that Dr. Atul Madan provided Tamara Walter at a Beverly Hills clinic in December. The 52-year-old woman went into cardiac arrest after the procedure.
In their Los Angeles medical complaint to the medical board, Walter's family points to her post-surgery care. They say that she went into cardiac arrest while at the Beverly Hills Surgery Center after managing to take out her breathing tube twice. She was brain dead by the time she arrived at the hospital. If evidence of medical neglect surfaces, her family may have grounds for a Los Angeles County medical malpractice case.
Walters is the second person to die following a Lap-Band surgery performed by Madan. The first person, 33-year-old Ana Renteria, died last February days after her procedure. Per the coroner's office, the office worker died from medical complications related to her laparoscopic gastric band placement and from hernia repair. Renteria also suffered from diabetes.
Both Lap-Band procedures were conducted at the Beverly Hills Surgery Center where a third patient, Willie Brooks, died in 2009 after his Lap-Band procedure by Dr. George Tashjian. His cause of death, according to the Riverside County coroner, was peritonitis due to Lap-Band procedure. Brooks' family is suing for Los Angeles County medical malpractice.
Considered a safer choice than gastric bypass surgery, Lap-Band surgery, also called Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding, does have its risks. If the band slips, the part of the stomach above the band could cause the band to become a barrier in the stomach, which may lead to food or drink intolerances or stomach obstruction. If the body rejects the lap band or the band breaks, other health issues may result.
Examples of Lap-Band complications:
• Ulcers
• Slippage
• Erosion
• Hematoma
• Port Leaks
• Esophagus Dilation
• Port Problems
• Seroma
• Deterioration of the stomach wall
If surgical negligence or negligent medical care before or after a lap band procedure caused injury or death, the patient or his/her family may be entitled to Los Angeles personal injury compensation.
Lap-Band surgeon under review in 2nd patient death, Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2011
Answers sought in lap-band fatality, Daily Breeze, January 16, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Overview
What is a strong malpractice case?, LectLaw
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