Wednesday, May 28, 2008

In Honor of Kanye's Mom, Lawmakers Push for Stricter Plastic Surgery Rules

SACRAMENTO — Six months after Kanye West's mother died following liposuction and breast surgery, two state lawmakers are pushing for greater protections for cosmetic surgery patients.

Such surgeries are increasingly carried out in outpatient clinics, where doctors can avoid the type of rigorous review they would expect at traditional hospitals.

"These (clinics) are not hospitals," state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development, told the Los Angeles Times in a story printed Monday. "You have to raise the standards."

Though California has previously pushed to regulate outpatient surgical centers and legislators passed a law saying such centers must be accredited by a state-recognized agency, Ridley-Thomas said the law has been ineffective. He has proposed legislation requiring regular inspections.

Known as SB 1454, his legislation would require outpatient facilities to be inspected at least once every three years.

Another lawmaker is also pushing for new protections.

Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter said Donda West's niece asked her to introduce a bill requiring a health check before a person chooses to have cosmetic surgery. She introduced the "Donda West Law" in February.

West, 58, died at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Nov. 10, a day after she underwent breast reduction, tummy tuck and liposuction procedures.

She had been sent home following

her 5 1/2-hour surgery. A coroner's autopsy report found that West most likely died of heart disease coupled with complications after plastic surgery. But, it said the exact cause of death couldn't be known.

Dr. Jan Adams, who operated on West, has denied any wrongdoing.

California is not alone in seeking to increase oversight of cosmetic surgery doctors. Florida has passed a law designed to educate patients about their doctor's credentials and in the Canadian province of Ontario, officials are clamping down after a woman died following liposuction.

Source: News

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