Whoa. Just whoa.

[DianaD]

I wasn't initially sure where to post this and I have heard of some PS suing people for negative online reviews, but I consulted with her and she seemed really nice...but you just never know. Luckily I know another surgeon in the area who is very qualified that I had previous surgery with that I'm going to consult with, too, but damn. A patient died under here care and it seems that she built up an aggressive online presence that does not necesarily reflect reality.

http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-09-15/n...oring-the-web/


In the case of Rajagopal, suspicions have been raised about a marketing professional hired to augment the surgery center's business by increasing its online presence. The marketing woman did a fantastic job of getting Rajagopal to the top of the Google rankings, but in doing so, she left behind a trail of evidence suggesting falsified patient reviews. According to a video Rajagopal made praising the marketing work, the woman's efforts may have steered numerous hopeful patients to Rajagopal's website and then into her office.

Some of Rajagopal's patients disagree about her purported capabilities, as does the Medical Board of California. Documents obtained from the board and San Francisco Superior Court show that some patients — who have not posted their stories in the comments sections — have been hurt by Rajagopal. In one instance, a 35-year-old woman who was undergoing a fairly routine plastic surgery didn't get the chance to tell anyone about the quality of the doctor's care. Due to what the medical board has called Rajagopal's "gross negligence," the woman sustained a serious brain injury. She slipped into a coma, and never woke up.

According to medical board documents, the first mistake Rajagopal made was to "advise the patient to eat on the morning of surgery, complicating her risks of nausea/vomiting, and respiratory arrest." This is important during a surgery where the patient is given narcotics to alleviate pain.


Numerous drugs were used in Aminy's procedure, including lidocaine. The drug is described in the medical board documents as "a known cardiotoxin." The documents also indicate that Rajagopal mixed four times too much lidocaine into a solution that was one-third of the usual volume, and she mixed that solution in a basin rather than the standard bag.

After Rajagopal injected the concentrated solution into the patient's stomach, Aminy got sick. "I feel like throwing up," she told the doctor. Rajagopal put ice packs on Aminy's face and neck as the patient dry heaved. No nurse or anesthesiologist was present, and nobody was monitoring Aminy's vital signs. "This failure prevented early detection of an adverse effect of the narcotics," the medical board documents reported.

When Aminy stopped talking and slipped into unconsciousness, Rajagopal requested a nurse. Then she told someone to call 911. When Aminy's vitals were finally recorded again, it became clear that her blood pressure had dropped and she wasn't getting enough oxygen.

When the paramedics arrived, Aminy's heart was slowing down. They used the defibrillator, but by the time she arrived at the hospital, she was comatose. The medical board documents say she sustained a severe anoxic brain injury, and would spend the rest of her life unconscious with a feeding tube.


Part II of the story:

http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-03-16/n...shley-harrell/