After a 2009 liposuction patient of Dr. Yves N. Jean-Baptiste filed a complaint with the Florida Board of Medicine, an investigation was launched that resulted in the emergency suspension of the physician’s medical license for one year, as well as the issuance of a $50,000 fine.
Dr. Jean-Baptiste was penalized by the board because he allowed two of his employees, who were unlicensed medical assistants, to perform liposuction on the patient in an unregistered surgical facility. In addition, the doctor’s record-keeping was deemed inadequate, as he failed to document important surgical details including the amount of anesthesia used and the amount of fat removed during the liposuction procedure.
Another problem in Dr. Jean Baptiste’s case was the fact that the doctor not only wasn’t certified in plastic surgery but rather was certified in family medicine and had undergone only a brief liposuction training seminar.
“I think he’s in a lot of trouble because he doesn’t have a surgical background,” said board member Dr. Trina Espinola, a St. Petersburg surgeon.
Frequently in cosmetic surgery, doctors who are not board-certified plastic surgeons take short weekend classes to learn the basics of a particular plastic surgery procedure then perform the procedure on unwitting patients to make a quick buck in the lucrative, cash-only aesthetic medicine industry.
“This kind of case underscores how a weekend of coursework doesn’t prepare physicians to perform procedures such as liposuction,” said Chris Nuland, a Jacksonville attorney representing Florida’s plastic surgeons and dermatologists, who all too often must correct the mistakes of unqualified cosmetic medicine practitioners.
The firm, decisive action taken by the Florida Board of Medicine against Dr. Jean-Baptiste will likely set the precedent among family doctors and other unqualified, untrained medical professionals that compromising patient welfare and ethical practice standards to cash-in on cosmetic surgery is unacceptable and may jeopardize your ability to practice medicine, at least in the state of Florida.
