Dr. Jan Adams on Larry King Live

Dr. Jan Adams, the plastic surgeon involved with the Donda West tragedy, spoke out on Larry King Live last night. Here is a link to the video on CNN.com:
Click here.

It is definitely interesting to hear his side of the story. Very appropriately, he did not comment specifically about Donda West, as her medical information is private patient-doctor privilege and should not be revealed on nationwide TV. I have no comment on his DUI convictions, but did find his take on Board-certification interesting. He did complete residency training in plastic surgery with a fellowship in aesthetic plastic surgery (like myself) but for some reason did not get board-certified. Some surgeons don't. This still places him in a much higher place than many other doctors performing plastic surgery such as OB-Gyns and ER docs.

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Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:

LA Times Article on Donda West

Yesterday the L.A. Times ran a comprehensive article featuring more information on the tragic death of Donda West after plastic surgery. They cite evidence that she had possible severe atherosclerotic heart disease, hypertension, borderline diabetes, and evidence of pneumonia due to aspiration. These are some very worrysome factors when one considers she underwent 5 1/2 hours of body surgery, which is more traumatic than facial surgery such as a facelift or blepharoplasty. To her surgeon's defense, however, patients sometimes don't inform their plastic surgeon about all their medical history, so as not to be turned down for the procedure. What Donda West told her surgeon and anesthesiologist, however, is not publicly known. The story continues to unfold...

Link to article: here

Thanks for reading.
Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:

Update on the Death of Donda West

The final coroner's report on Kanye West's mom, Donda West, was released Thursday. Although the results are inconclusive, there was no sign that surgery error caused her death. According to CNN.com:

The exact cause of death couldn't be determined but there was no sign of "surgical or anesthetic misadventure" in the death of Donda West, Kanye West's mother, a coroner's report said Thursday...
The report noted that coronary artery disease, the liposuction and mammoplasty, and multiple postoperative factors could have played a role, but said the exact contribution of each factor couldn't be determined...
The investigation found "therapeutic levels of medication" but no unusually high levels....
"The final matter of death could not be determined," the coroner's office said in a statement.
Asked if West would still be alive if she hadn't undergone the surgery, Winter said: "She could, possibly. But she could have also died because of pre-existing cardiac issues."

If one good thing can come out of this tragedy, hopefully it is that prospective patients will ensure their plastic surgeons are board-certified and take all the safety precautions necessary to prevent something like this happening. It has reinforced the rule in my practice that all patients over 40 must get preoperative clearance from their internist of family doctor.

Photo credit: prphotos.com

Thanks for reading.
Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.: