False Hope, Broken Trust, Part II

CBS 2 News Special Assignment

Special Assignment: False Hope, Broken Trust, Part II aired Wednesday, February 17, 1999 at 11 p.m. (Editor's Note: Part I of False Hope, Broken Trust aired Tuesday, February 16, 1999)

They claim cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery is "painless" and "permanent" with "guaranteed results," but some doctors claim credentials they don't have.

"He advertised as a plastic surgeon," Karen Reid told CBS 2 News' Thelma Gutierrez.

He wasn't. And Reid would learn that the hard way.

"You wanted a breast augmentation, would you have sought out an ear, nose and throat doctor to do it?" Gutierrez asked Reid.

"Never, never," Reid replied.

Reid thought the advertisement implied the doctor was a plastic surgeon. Now she says she's scarred for life because of industrial-sized staples used to close her incisions.

Some doctors say the problems are out of control, that a number of ads and claims go beyond bad taste. Some are outright lies and meant to mislead the public, said Gutierrez.

"The false ads, the sleazy material. One is outdoing the other with hype and false claims," Plastic Surgeon Michael Maguire told Gutierrez.

The more the I-Team looked, the more preposterous some of the advertisements became.

One outfit combines a "New You" surgery package with wildlife safari in South Africa, including a drive past President Mandela's house.

"It's an embarassment. It's outrageous the claims these people are making," Maguire said.

Maguire is also an inspector for outpatient surgery facilities. He says it's time for a system overhaul.

"It's a frustrating problem to see all of this exploding in newspapers and on the 'Net without any real good control," he said.

The I-Team found the hard sell even goes beyond the ads. Some of it happens right in a doctor's office.

One doctor told a potential patient that most people have the liposuction procedure done on a Friday and go back to work Monday.

Maguire says it's not true. Most people need at least a week to recover from liposuction of the thighs.

"When everything is too easy, too wonderful, you have to start wondering," Maguire said. "Again, it's a sales pitch to get you to do what you really want to have done."

Dr. Gerald Greenberg is accused by the medical board of misleading patients with his ad. It implies he's a plastic surgeon, when he's not.

Now the board is taking disciplinary action against Greenberg for this and other allegations.

Greenberg would not respond to the I-Team's requests for an interview.

Cosmetic surgery patient Paris Perlich (pictured above) says a hard sell and false promises of quick and easy laser resurfacing changed her life.

"I think advertising gets people to feel it's quick and easy, but it's really not," Perlich told Gutierrez.

Perlich was model. Her face appeared in many ads. She says her plastic surgeon claimed to be an expert.

"The person who did my laser took a quick course and practiced on a tomato. I was the tenth person he had done," said Perlich.

Her face was burned. It became infected. The scars ran deep.

For three years, she recovered like a burn victim. On top of that she says it was tough to hold the doctor accountable, said Gutierrez.

"I had a lot of trouble because of the power of his insurance company and lawyers. No one wnated to testify against him," said Perlich. "I found it was an old boy network."

Reid, however, says she tried to protect herself. She even checked her doctor out with the medical board. But she also learned too late that even if there is a problem and a settlement under $30,000, you won't find it on the doctor's record, said Gutierrez.

Reid says without tough law or the people to enforce the law, patients are out on their own.

"It angers me he's still out there, that they're out there," said Reid.

It's up to the California Medical Board to police doctors and deceptive ads. They are now taking action against one doctor, and the I-Team will have that follow-up, said Gutierrez.

More information:

• Channel 2000 has compiled the following information from the Medical Board of California.