Like a fake Louis Vuitton
A plastic surgery group practice in Albany pleaded guilty in federal court today for misleading patients about Botox injections. No one was reportedly harmed physically and apparently the patients' faces were still de-wrinkled. So what was the offense? The practice was using knock-off Botox and passing it off as the real thing. [Biz Review] [TU] [Troy Record] [CBS6]
Say Something!
We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.
Comments
I'm really tempted to make a joke about how by definition the field of plastic surgery is about dishonesty and trying to pass fake things off as real...but a lot of plastic surgery is medically necessary and covered by insurance. I know what I'm talking about because this place will be doing such an operation on me in October. Reading this news, and seeing a photo of my surgeon out front of the courthouse really makes me uncomfortable.
... said Anonymous on Aug 11, 2009 at 5:10 PM | link
@Anonymous: I know what you mean. I've been to this practice (for medically necessary, non-cosmetic procedures) numerous times and it makes me feel disquieted to know that this has been going on. They've been around this community for decades and there is no plastic surgeon locally who is more established or has a better reputation.
I think I have to take solace in the fact that out of the thousands of patients they've seen, there are only 150 who are affected here (and who will supposedly suffer no harm). Still, the fact that a physician would sacrifice a patient's well-being to save a buck is horrifying.
I hope that the physician performing your procedure isn't one of the Fab Five mentioned in the indictment!
... said Kate on Aug 12, 2009 at 9:22 AM | link
@Kate
He is. In fact, he's one of the surgeons photographed in the TU. I've been on the phone all morning with my insurance company to see what my options are. This whole situation makes me so queasy.
... said Anonymous on Aug 12, 2009 at 9:58 AM | link
@Anonymous... okay, so I sympathize with your plight, but I have poor reading comprehension. You did say that you saw your surgeon's photo in the paper. Oops.
I wonder if they are still practicing, or if there's any disciplinary licensure action going on. I don't recall reading in the TU or Bizjournals stories that they were on hiatus (but, you know, my reading comprehension issues...).
I hear that there's a local plastic surgeon named Dr. Kennedy, who is supposed to be excellent.
Best of luck!
... said Kate on Aug 12, 2009 at 10:23 AM | link
Licensure revocation in the State of New York is a very lengthy procedure and even a felony conviction does not automatically remove a physicians license to practice - so Yes - I would say that the Fab Five are most likely still taking appointments and performing needed (insurance reimbursed) reconstructive surgery and the more routine "cash cow" (private pay) COSMETIC surgery/office procedures (I dont imagine botox injections are considered surgery). I hope this news doesnt upset the 151 patients and make them frown too much - they'll have to return to get those frown lines removed!
... said The Mother on Aug 12, 2009 at 10:52 AM | link
@Kate
lol, don't worry about it... I'm the same way.
@The Mother
Thank you for the info, I was wondering about how all that works.
... said Anonymous on Aug 12, 2009 at 12:38 PM | link
These guys obviously did the wrong thing here by attempting to cover-up, but I do not think that they should be facing criminal sanction. They made a mistake a purchased a product that was misrepresented by the vendor -- who are the criminals here.
IMO, the US Attorney went over the top, as they often do, to make examples out of these folks.
Its a shame that this will probably damage their practice badly, as I know of a couple of people who have benefitted greatly from the skills of these doctors. They fix hands and make people with injuries be able to look in the mirror again. (I'm not talking about the more trivial stuff here.)
... said AnonGuy on Aug 13, 2009 at 7:47 AM | link
I must say, I don't have any sympathy for these guys. As members of a typically highly-paid profession, they still opted to sacrifice their patients' well-being to save a few bucks on "real" Botox. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath?
Even if they believed that it would cause no harm, they still knowingly used something that wasn't intended in the way in which they used it. I think it's a credit to the law enforcers who busted the clinic in Arizona and the doctors who bought the bad product.
And, the product was not misrepresented. If you look at the photos in the TU, there is one of a bottle of the Botox that clearly says that it is not intended for human consumption.
Besides, why on Earth would these guys risk their practices and reputations by pleading guilty if they knew that they were not at fault?!
I feel badly for any members of the practice who didn't know what was going on and who will suffer because of the misdeeds, but I don't feel one lick of sorry for these guys.
... said Kate on Aug 13, 2009 at 1:44 PM | link