woman sues dentist for botched breast surgery

[Amby 490]

A woman is suing a dentist and oral surgeon, claiming he botched a breast reduction procedure he performed on her three years ago when she was 15, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Sunday.

At the time of the surgery, Thomas Laney was practicing in Seattle, where he was able to remain in business despite being implicated in the death of a patient and having 10 lawsuits filed against him.

The most recent complaint was filed last month in Washington state's King County Superior Court. The woman, who is now 18, had seen Laney for a breast reduction in August 2005.

The P-I is withholding the woman's identity because of "the intimate nature of the medical details," the newspaper said in an article published on its Web site.

The woman's lawyer, Patricia Greenstreet told the P-I that her client was a high school athlete with disproportionately large breasts that hampered her ability to play sports and caused her neck and back pain.

But the surgery left the woman feeling worse, Greenstreet said. According to a plastic surgeon that supported the woman's complaint in court records, Laney violated "the standard of care" by allegedly mismarking the woman's breasts after the operation and by placing her nipples "cross-eyed."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,449545,00.html

Did I miss something? He's a dentist.

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Did I miss something? He's a dentist.

see what happens when your hmo hates you?

[Amby 490]

Did I miss something? He's a dentist.

see what happens when your hmo hates you?

[alienlovechild 75]

placing her nipples "cross-eyed."

I'm trying to picture that one but it would probably leave cross-eyed as well.

[Amby 490]

placing her nipples "cross-eyed."

I'm trying to picture that one but it would probably leave cross-eyed as well.

not hard to picture. you know how some women have nips that are straight on, some have some that kinda go out towards the armpit, and she has them going in towards the sternum

[MrsCat 6]

Wow. Guess he trained for cosmetic surgeries through weekend class.

Here's the original story:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/den...231_laney27.asp

Death cases closed quietly

The histories of many dentists and doctors are hidden from consumers

By MICHELLE NICOLOSI

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER

Five years ago, Seattle-area resident David Scott Kelley joined the millions of Americans who have flocked to cosmetic surgeons for a new nose, thinner thighs or a stronger chin. He signed up with Seattle dentist and doctor Thomas Laney for liposuction on his neck, and for surgery on his nose and chin.

Laney is formally trained as an oral surgeon, but offers a broad spectrum of cosmetic surgeries, including breast augmentations, tummy tucks and full-body liposuction. He said he learned to do cosmetic surgeries mostly through weekend and weeklong classes offered in surgical suites and hotels around the country.

In Laney's surgical suite on Broadway, just down the street from the bustle of Capitol Hill, Kelley's initial surgery went as planned. He was awake and recovering when a swelling developed on his "lower face." Laney -- a former member of the state dental board -- took Kelley back into surgery to find the source of the bleeding. Within hours, Kelley was dead.

Laney does not have many of the qualifications some in the medical establishment consider a prerequisite for performing many of the surgeries he's doing: He did not complete a residency or fellowship in this field and does not have privileges to do below-the-neck cosmetic surgeries in any hospital.

A prominent national oral surgery society says it's very unusual for oral surgeons to perform below-the-neck cosmetic surgery. Laney said his training path is "not traditional" but perfectly acceptable, and that he is very good at what he does.

Kelley's death case is one of nine Laney settled out of court over the years, with payouts totaling nearly $1 million to patients who said Laney had botched their liposuction, nose job and jaw surgeries, among other things.

Laney has been sued 10 times on care-related matters. He won the one case that went to trial, and another case was dismissed. The rest settled out of court.

The medical and dental boards reviewed each of the lawsuits -- plus other complaints filed with the boards. All of the cases were closed without sanctions, except the Kelley case.

"He had an amazing string of cases where he had actually paid out on the claims," said attorney Corrie Yackulic, who represented a patient in one of the lawsuits. "At the brink of trial, his insurer paid out," she said.

. . . . . . .

There's a lot more - its a long article