Yes

by Tara Rijon

Created on: February 24, 2010

The world of cosmetic surgery had a large shadow cast upon it following the death of Donda West in November of 2007.  As the mother of a well known rapper, Kanye West, the media dug in with all fours and uncovered a wealth of information about the surgeon.  New light was shed on her pre-existing health conditions, of which she was (apparently) aware of.  Does the fact that the patient failed to reveal certain facts about her health make her solely liable, or is there a more profound answer to be found in examining the doctor’s past history?

Donda West held a PhD and was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University prior to retiring and becoming her son’s manager.  She was an intelligent, well-educated woman who made a personal decision to have elective cosmetic surgery.  She knew that she suffered from hypertension and that she had a thyroid disorder, as well as being a borderline diabetic.  But was this sufficient to release the doctor from blame?

An autopsy was performed on Dr. West on November 12, 2007.  The report stated that death was attributed to “coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors following liposuction and mammoplasty.”  It goes on to say that contributing factors were “aspiration of emesis, focal pneumonia, bandaging of torso with constriction, probable hem dilution, medication used for pain and an abnormal hemoglobin variant.”   The final conclusion was that “the manner of death could not be determined.”

In reviewing the weeks prior to her death, it was discovered that Dr. West had consulted with Dr. Andre Aboolian, a cosmetic surgeon who practices in Beverly Hills.  Dr. Aboolian advised against the procedures and refused surgery until she provided a statement from her doctor verifying that she was healthy enough for the proceedures.  Rather than provide the requested evidence, Dr. West contacted Dr. Jan Adams.  

Dr. January (Jan) Rudalgo Adams attended Harvard and Ohio State University and completed his surgery residency at Lennox Hill Hospital in New York City.  According to his web site, he describes himself as “ a physician, lecturer, author, television personality and entrepreneur.” In November of 2003 he appeared on Oprah, and following the death of Dr. West it was suggested that Oprah had even introduced the pair, which she later adamantly denied.  He has, in fact, made numerous television appearances, and at one time hosted the Discovery Health Channel‘s “Plastic Surgery: Before and After.”  Qualifications of this magnitude would be sufficient to impress even the most doubtful, but what it doesn’t reveal is that Dr. Adams is not board certified, nor does he maintain medical malpractice insurance (not a requirement by California law).

According to documents filed by the California Medical Board, Dr. Adams has had several legal issues going back several years.  In 2002 Dr. Adams reportedly struck a parked car after another vehicle allegedly ran a stop light, but no evidence of a second vehicle was ever uncovered.  In January 2003 he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) regarding this incident.  He pled no contest to the charge,  received probation, ordered to attend alcohol counseling and only allowed to drive a vehicle to and from work. On March 31, 2006, a new DUI charge was levied against him and on April 4th (less than one week later) he received another.  On June 26, 2008, his medical license was suspended “for failure to pay his court ordered child support.” On January 7, 2009, Dr. Adams was sentenced to a year in jail in lieu of his repeated DUI’s and (at the request of the medical board) surrendered his medical license the following April.

In addition to the multitude of alcohol related convictions, The California Medical Board shows four judgments against Dr. Adams since 2001.  This does not include those that are still pending with the courts, which the New York Daily News reports the total number to be ten.   While it is not unheard of for a lawsuit to be filed against a doctor, one would think that such a large number would have raised some red flags.  

Donda West knew that she had some questionable medical conditions, but it would be hard to conceive that she believed they would be deadly.  It is inconceivable that any surgery ever be performed without taking the patient’s blood pressure before, during and after, so it would be impossible for any doctor to perform a procedure on her and not be aware of her hypertension.  Setting her health issues aside, she was a 58 year old, overweight black female.  Liposuction is a terribly invasion surgery that requires a lot of follow-up and healing time.  Two major procedures were performed on her in one day, and then she was sent home with no one to care for her except family and friends.

Not only was Dr. Adams at fault for the death of Dr. West, but the California Medical Board is equally to blame, as is California state government..  Despite the many occurrences with alcohol related incidents, they failed to recognize the dangers set forth by this doctor and allowed him to continue to practice.  If you own a vehicle in California, you are required to have it licensed and insured, even it doesn’t leave your driveway, yet they allow a doctor to practice medicine without malpractice insurance.  

After consistent tries, the “Donda West Law” was finally signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on October 12, 2009.  This new law requires all persons to submit to a physical exam and receive doctor approved clearance prior to completion of any type of cosmetic surgery.  Unfortunately, the bill is not very descriptive in nature, and some doctors do not feel that it will be paramount in saving lives.  What it will do, however, is raise awareness so that those seeking to improve their lives through plastic surgery might be required to view the overall risks involved.


Sources:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0110083kanye1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Adams
http://licenselookup.mbc.ca.gov/licenselookup/lookup.php?LicenseType=A&LicenseNumber=51004
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/11/17/2007-11-17_the_doctor_who_broke_kanye_wests_heart_i.html?page=1
http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_1101-1150/ab_1116_cfa_20090504_131942_asm_comm.html

Learn more about this author, Tara Rijon.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.