OC woman the 5th fatality after Lap Band procedure
WEST HILLS, CALIF (BDCi) – A 55-year-old Ladera Ranch woman became the fifth person to have died from “Lap Band” surgery in September, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Paula Rojeski died September 8th shortly after an outpatient procedure that she ordered in response to the 1-800-GET-THIN advertisement, a close friend told The Times.
“I had just talked to Paula the night before. She was really excited, really happy. She told me, ‘I’m going to be skinny!’” said Rojeski’s longtime friend Marni Rader.
Rojeski’s surgery was performed at Valley Surgical Center in West Hills. The same day she was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead said the Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter to the newspaper. The woman’s death marks the second death coinciding with a 1-800-GET-THIN procedure at the Valley Surgical Center. The county coroner has yet to rule cause of death in the Rojeski matter.
Three other patients died after “Lap Band” procedures at a clinic in Beverly Hills once known as the Beverly Hills Surgery Center.
The 1-800-GET-THIN campaign is not associated at all with the manufacturer and is a joint venture between Doctors Julian and Michael Omidi; Per The Times, Michael Omidi is listed in a government filing as owner of the outpatient center at which Rojeski had her surgery.
Rojeski’s drivers license listed her as 5’ 5” and 160 pounds; Rader estimated her friend’s weight at 180 pounds.
By Don Weinstein Source and photo: Los Angeles Times 24 September 2011
6:22p.m. P.D.T.