The Pulp has been following the case of a Broward woman who says that a cosmetic procedure destroyed her face and neck with keloids and that her surgeon didn't tell her about scarring risks beforehand.
Dennis says that privacy laws bar him from commenting on the specifics of the case but says that his client has done no wrong.
"For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is [legal] concerns, I'm not permitted to even acknowledge whether she has been or ever was a patient of Dr. Garcia," he says.
"A lawsuit, a complaint, tells only one side of the story. We will
present our side of the case, and we believe that Dr. Garcia will be
vindicated of any wrongdoing whatsoever. We intend to vigorously defend
this claim, and that's the extent to which I could even comment on it."
Perrins-Whittaker had the
procedure at Lifestyle Lift, a nationally franchised
practice that also has a Palm Beach office. The company says that
its physicians always tell patients about possible adverse effects. Lifestyle Lift's patient consent form, which the company emailed to the Pulp, mentions keloid scars specifically.
Perrins-Whittaker
says she told Garcia that she had a
tendency to develop keloid scars and was worried that the surgery would cause an outbreak, according to a lawsuit recently filed
in the Broward County Civil Court.
When she went for a surgical consultation in July 2009,
Perrins-Whittaker even went so far as to show Garcia a keloid on her
back, she says.
Still, Perrins-Whittaker was told not to
worry, that she'd be just fine, she claims in the court filing.
Perrins-Whittaker claims that she was not just fine by any means: She says that her face erupted
into a bed of keloid scars less than a week after her August 6, 2009, surgery.
Perrins-Whittaker says that keloids now cover her face and neck, so
she's suing Garcia and Lifestyle Lift for damages.
Lifestyle Lift disagrees with this accounting of events.
Rebecca
Shaw, a spokeswoman for the company, has said previously that she's not familiar with
the lawsuit but could speak generally about surgical risks.
"Dr. Juan Garcia was a Lifestyle Lift physician for a time in our Fort
Lauderdale Center, but left our organization to resume a private
practice in Jacksonville," she says in an email to the Pulp. "He's a talented surgeon, and we have complete
confidence in his experience and skills.
"Our doctors review these risks in detail so that patients are fully
informed before signing the consent form."
Also, she says, scars that result from the surgery are typically concealed around and behind the fold of
the ear and within the hairline.
Check back to the Pulp for updates.
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