Re: Reply to Article about Dr. Epstein

[Guest guest]

Can someone send me the article about Dr. Epstein?...Thanks

[Guest guest]

Here it is...

Samara is one of my good friends at Boston College (she and I were in a

leadership program together freshman year) and we were both operated on by Dr.

Epstein....or so we thought. Our parents all saw Dr. Epstein and were under the

impression he was doing surgery on us, but someone else (Dr. Abbott in her case,

Dr. Romito in mine) actually performed the surgery. I ended up fine, but she now

has serious disabilities from Dr. Epstein said would be a simple procedure.

Samara and her family are the NICEST people, so genuine and honest --- I just

can't believe that a surgeon (especially one of Dr. Epstein's status and

reputation) would flat-out lie to them...he's supposed to be such a wonderful

doc with such a great bedside manner.

Jen

20, SB lipomyelomeningocele L1-2, wheels/crutches, AFOs, self-cathed, latex

allergy, TSC (detethered at 8 months, 5 years, 11 years, 14 years, and 19 years)

SURGEONS DID A ‘BAIT & SWITCH': TUMOR TEEN

By SUSAN EDELMAN;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STRUGGLING:

Samara Meyers, 19, now a student at Boston College, has spent years overcoming

disabilities after brain surgery when she was 11.

- Wisniewski

March 23, 2003 --

WHEN they learned their 11-year-old daughter had a brain tumor, and

Meyers wanted only the best surgeon to remove it.

The New Jersey couple settled on Dr. Fred Epstein, a Manhattan neurosurgeon

whose work with children had earned him worldwide fame and made him one of the

highest-paid doctors in the city.

In his office before the surgery, Epstein wrapped his arms around the anxious

girl and promised she'd be back at school a couple weeks after the procedure,

the Meyers said. They recall Epstein saying he had a daughter with the same name

and assuring Samara, " You're going to be just fine. "

But Samara was never the same. She suffered a loss of peripheral vision in both

eyes, partial paralysis on the left side and cognitive impairment from a brain

injury during the surgery.

It wasn't until years later, the Meyers say, that they learned Epstein wasn't

their daughter's surgeon. They are now suing him, saying he betrayed their trust

by allowing an associate to do the operation - without ever telling them.

The substitution of surgeons without patient consent is called " ghost surgery " -

and may occur more frequently than the reported cases suggest, experts say.

In their suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the Meyers call their

daughter's case a medical version of " bait and switch. "

" It's so scary, " said Samara, now 19 and still struggling to overcome her

disabilities while attending college. " You go to a doctor who's world famous and

think you're getting the best there is. It turns out you don't even know who

you're getting . . . I feel lied to. "

Epstein's associate, Dr. Ira Richmond Abbott, said in testimony in the suit that

he performed surgery on Samara. He declined The Post's request for an interview.

In his testimony, Abbott said he had " no recall " of specifically what he told

Meyers when they first met the night before the surgery at New York

University Medical Center.

Abbott, who specialized in the temporal lobe tumor from which Samara was

suffering, testified he operated on her with an assistant. Epstein, a brain-stem

tumor expert, did not even scrub for Samara's procedure, Abbott said.

A lawyer for both doctors, Jay Rappaport, said the Meyers were " well aware " of

who would operate on their daughter.

The state Health Department last week launched a probe of whether the Meyers'

right to informed consent was violated.

" Parents faced with putting the health of their child in the hands of medical

professionals deserve nothing less than the truth about who will be performing

the surgery, " said department spokesman Kenny.

The state is reviewing documents and testimony indicating that Epstein wrote his

name as co-surgeon on Abbott's post-operative report. Epstein also wrote to an

insurance company seeking more money for Samara's operation, saying he was

" involved in the procedure " and had used sophisticated tools.

Rappaport said Epstein added his name as co-surgeon because he had " entered the

room " during Samara's operation. Epstein has not testified in the case. He

suffered a brain injury in a bicycle accident in 2000. He has not resumed

practicing medicine, but is helping raise funds for Beth Israel Medical Center's

Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, where he is founding director.

The Meyers, who live in Sparta, N.J., chose Dr. Epstein because they thought he

was " the best of the best. "

Before the operation, Meyers recalled Epstein dismissing her concerns

about risks, calling them " too minimal to discuss. " None of those meetings

included Dr. Abbott, the parents say.

The Meyers say Epstein led them to believe that Abbott would be " assisting " him.

They signed a consent form agreeing to let " Epstein/Abbott " operate.

A few days before the surgery, Meyers says she told Epstein: " I know

this is a teaching hospital, but I want to make sure that no one is touching my

daughter but you. "

According to her, Epstein replied, " Of course, I will be the one performing. I

will be the one operating on her. "

The Meyers say Epstein emerged from the operating area in scrubs and told them,

" She's going to be fine. " He then left, saying Abbott would give them details,

they testified.

But Abbott told the father there were complications during the operation, the

surgeon acknowledged in testimony.

Samara has undergone years of therapy, relearning how to do many basic

activities like dressing and fixing her hair.

The Meyers launched their suit in 2000, they say, after a neurologist treating

Samara reviewed her medical records and told them he did not believe Epstein

performed the 1995 surgery.

" The choice of who would operate on our daughter's brain was stolen from us, "

Meyers said.

| On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 13:18:20 EDT

| B@... wrote:

| Can someone send me the article about Dr. Epstein?...Thanks

|

|

|

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the information...he was a patient in his own hospital...and can

nolonger operate...God works in strange ways....

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone, haven't been on for a while, hope I didn't miss anything.

My pain management doctor wants me to see a urogynocologist to have a

stimulator implanted in my bladder to regain control. Anyone ever heard of

this before?

>From: B@...

>Reply-To: tetheredspinalcord

>To: tetheredspinalcord

>Subject: Re: Reply to Article about Dr. Epstein

>Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2004 20:30:08 EDT

>

>Thanks for the information...he was a patient in his own hospital...and can

>nolonger operate...God works in strange ways....

>

>

>