-
Editorials
- Bradenton Herald
- Daytona Beach News-Journal
- Florida Times-Union
- Florida Today
- Ft. Myers News-Press
- Gainesville Sun
- Lakeland Ledger
- Miami Herald
- Naples Daily News
- NWF Daily News
- Ocala Star-Banner
- Orlando Sentinel
- Palm Beach Post
- Pensacola News Journal
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- TCPalm
- Sun-Sentinel
- Tallahassee Democrat
- Tampa Bay Times
- Columnists
- Cartoons
-
Press Releases
- Sayfie Review
- Jose Oliva
- Nikki Fried
- Bill Galvano
- Ron DeSantis
- Marco Rubio
- Ashley Moody
- Rick Scott
- Jimmy Patronis
- Congressional Delegation ≻
- Matt Gaetz
- Neal Dunn
- Kat Cammack
- Aaron Bean
- John Rutherford
- Michael Waltz
- Cory Mills
- Bill Posey
- Darren Soto
- Maxwell Frost
- Daniel Webster
- Gus Bilirakis
- Anna Paulina Luna
- Kathy Castor
- Laurel Lee
- Vern Buchanan
- Greg Steube
- Scott Franklin
- Byron Donalds
- Sheila Cherfilus McCormick
- Brian Mast
- Lois Frankel
- Jared Moskowitz
- Frederica Wilson
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Mario Diaz-Balart
- Maria Elvira Salazar
- Carlos Gimenez
- Political Links
-
News Links
- Drudge Report
- NewsMax.com
- AP Florida News
- ABC News' The Note
- NBC News' First Read
- Florida Channel
- Florida TV Stations
- Florida Radio Stations
- Capitol Update
- Florida Newspapers
- Florida Trend
- South Florida Business Journal
- Tampa Bay Business Journal
- Orlando Business Journal
- Jacksonville Business Journal
- News Service of Florida
- Politico Playbook
- Washington Post The Daily 202
-
Research
- Florida Fiscal Portal
- Search Florida Laws
- Search House Bills
- Search Senate Bills
- Search County, City Laws
- Search County Clerks' Records
- Cabinet Agendas, Transcripts
- Search Executive Orders
- Search Atty. General Opinions
- Search Supreme Court Docket
- Florida Supreme Court Rulings
- Search Florida Corporations
- Search Administrative Rules
- Proposed Administrative Rules
- View Advertised Contracts
- Refdesk.com
- Government Services Guide
- Electoral Vote Map
-
Reference
- Florida House
- Florida Senate
- Find Your Congressman
- Find Your State Legislator
- Find Your Local Officials
- Find Government Phone #'s
- Florida Agencies
- Florida Cities
- Florida Counties
- Florida Universities
- County Tax Collectors
- County Property Appraisers
- County Clerks of Court
- County Elections Supervisors
- MyFlorida.com
- OPPAGA
- Advertise with us
Times: Sen Bob Graham knew a thing or two about finding common ground
Sun-Sentinel: Bob Graham did his best work for the people of Florida | Editorial
Herald: This Miami landmark may finally be saved. Making the case for the Marine Stadium | Opinion
Times: For Israel and Ukraine alike, US support is proving unreliable and inadequate
Times: Here's how USF is rising as a major research institution
Times: Editorial Cartoons for Thursday from Times Wire Services
Sun-Sentinel: The cruelty of exposing outdoor workers to extreme heat | Editorial
Times: On the huge federal debt, the right questions, the wrong answers | Letters
Sun-Sentinel: Another shock to the Broward school system as superintendent steps down | Editorial
Medical board chairman warns of plastic surgery risk
CORAL GABLES --- Plastic surgery is becoming a public health risk, the chairman of the state’s medical licensing board said during a meeting in South Florida Friday.
Florida Board of Medicine Chairman Steven Rosenberg said state health officials need to educate the public about the risks of plastic surgery and how the dangers can increase when procedures are performed by physicians who aren’t qualified.
“I think it’s imperative that the Department of Health try to educate the public,” Rosenberg, a West Palm Beach dermatologist, said during Friday’s board meeting. “They need to recognize the fact that cosmetic procedures aren’t always safe. They need to be much more selective about the physicians that do these procedures.”
Rosenberg said that complaints following botched plastic surgery have become such a problem that the number of complaints the Board of Medicine has heard in the last year now outnumber complaints related to the overprescribing of highly addictive opioids.
The Board of Medicine regulates physicians but is not involved in public health campaigns, a task left up to state health officials.
“Over and over again, the common denominator is that people doing these procedures are inadequately trained,” Rosenberg said. “And, unfortunately, the public is at risk.”
Plastic surgery in Florida has been in the spotlight in recent months after reports by USA Today and the Naples Daily News revealed a high number of deaths stemming from procedures known as “Brazilian butt lifts.”
This spring, state lawmakers approved a measure aimed at increasing regulation of plastic surgery procedures performed in physicians' offices. The new law authorized Florida medical boards to develop rules to administer the registration, inspection, and safety of an office performing office surgery.
The Board of Medicine also issued an emergency rule in June that prohibits the injection of fat into or below the gluteal muscle. Doctors who violate the emergency rule will have their license immediately revoked.
But Rosenberg said the emergency rule doesn’t cover all plastic surgery procedures. The public needs to be more aware of physicians who may not have the proper training but are eager to offer services that can be lucrative, he said.
Rosenberg’s remarks followed the Board of Medicine’s decision to reject a proposed settlement agreement that would have imposed a $15,000 fine and a reprimand on Andre Brooks, a Spring Hill doctor whose patient died following a liposuction treatment. The settlement, reached by board staff and Brooks’ lawyer, also would have required the doctor to take continuing medical education courses.
Instead, the board voted Friday to impose tougher sanctions on Brooks, including a six-month suspension of his medical license and more hours of continuing education.
Brooks, a cardiologist, has seven days to consider board’s offer.
In 2017, Brooks’ lawyer told the Board of Medicine that the doctor was no longer performing liposuction and did not intend to perform the procedure in the future, and that Brooks had never been sanctioned during his 38 years of practice.
The sanctions approved Friday, which would permanently ban Brooks from performing liposuction, stem from a Dec. 12, 2017 procedure Brooks performed on “C.N.,” a 67-year-old patient.
According to documents made public by the Board of Medicine, Brooks released the patient the same day with instructions that she return to his office the following week.
Although the patient contacted Brooks’ staff regarding pain and nausea, she never returned for a follow-up visit.
Less than two weeks after the procedure, C.N. went to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a bowel perforation, urinary tract infection, septic shock and renal failure, among other ailments.
According to state records, the woman’s health continued to decline and, after a series of surgeries, she died on May 28, 2015.
From The News Service of Florida