16. I totally agree with #9. I've seen this guy on TV many times. Didn't he have a regular job with Discovery Health? It seems unbelievable to me that they would hire someone who wasn't board certified. Anyway, I think I'll reserve judgment until I know more. Do unto others . .

Posted at 1:34PM on Nov 13th 2007 by Jaki

17. This is a patents responsibility. Yeh the guys a crook among surgeons. Lots of us just finding out just now. But I’m not the one going under the knife. West mom was, and how many times do people have to be warned about checking these credentials for plastic surgeons in the fist place? This is a sad tragedy, I agree. But it's not like this is a shocker for malpractice, and yes it could have all been avoided. If Westmom gets special treatment in the investigation, it's because she's Kanye's mom. If she doesn't get special treatment it's beacuse she's a regular person ... or in Kanye's mind because she's black. Kanye never impressed me much anyone. He keeps saying give a black man a chance? Kanye doesn't want to be treated like a regular person cause he's black. he wants to be treated SPECIAL because he's black. We wait and see, but I put money on it he pulls the race card one way or another. the guys just doesn't know how to do anything else but whine because he's black in the first place. the death of his beloved mother is no different. he shoulda been helping his mom find the right surgeon if thats what she wanted instead of wasting his time whining cause he's black. What a waste, and what a shame. I guess we'll see Bono show up for the funeral that will prolly be filmed. He's needing some screen time.

Posted at 1:45PM on Nov 13th 2007 by been there

18. I have to agree with Kate. Another doctor refused to perform the surgery due to a medical condition and instead of taking the warning she instead goes to another doctor? Its a shame that vanity and stupidity cost someone their life and has left a family devastated. I can't speak for all the ladies out there but I'm thinking if you are in your late 50's already, why bother now with a tummy tuck? seriously. Age gracefully and don't fall for America's ridiculous standards of beauty.

Posted at 1:46PM on Nov 13th 2007 by Don

19. A valuable lesson to be learned by anyone seeking any type of plastic surgery after this terrible loss of life. ALWAYS check out the credentials of a plastic surgeon. My college age daughter recently had breast reduction surgery due to medical necessity (back/shoulder pain). I thoroughly checked out my daughter's surgeon by contacting the State Medical Board of Licensing to ensure he was 1) Board Certified Plastic Surgeon 2) had no malpractice suits/complaints against him. Her surgeon had many years of experience and was previously the Head of Plastic Surgery at one of the top hospitals in the country. With his credentials and other patient recommendations, I felt absolutely confident that he was a fully qualified reputable plastic surgeon to perform this surgery on my daughter. Many states have a Web site that provides this critical information that is necessary when making a decision to seek the services of a plastic surgeon. Taking the time to seek out this information may make the difference between life and death!

Posted at 2:00PM on Nov 13th 2007 by Sandy

20. Every doctor gets sued constantly all the time either if it was his fault or not. We live in the country that anybody can sue anybody (member? someone suing Mcdonalds for making them fat??!! puhleeze!!) I work in the medical field, and when patients are looking for doctors they ask other doctors for referrals. When it comes to plastic surgeons, the best are the ones that charge more and DO NOT ADVERTISE!! A good doctor does not need to advertise, they can make a decent practice with refferals. But there are some patients out there that they are so desperate to have surgeon that they sometimes fail to give doctors a decent medical history, so who are we to say that maybe Dr. West didn't divulge all of her past medical history to the doctor in order to have the rpocedure performed. She was denied by someone else. Also Ms. Hovey is a former patient of ours and she was a pain in the *&*%$#@ !!!

Posted at 3:18PM on Nov 13th 2007 by Cynthia

21. To think this all could have been avoied if proper homework was done is very very tragic..... My thoughts and prayers go out to the West Family

Posted at 3:49PM on Nov 13th 2007 by Katie

22. Doctors who abuse drugs or alcohol should have their licenses suspended or revoked until they can prove that they can practice medicine safely. State law requires that the paramount priority of the Medical Board of California is public protection --- not protection of physicians or even rehabilitation of physicians.

Would you allow a doctor who has a history of abusing drugs or alcohol treat or operate on your son or daugther?

Posted at 6:38PM on Nov 13th 2007 by Injured Patient

23. My condolences goes out to Kanye and his family. I think what people are failing to realize is that a human being lost their life. Yes, she wanted to correct what she didn't like about herself but I am sure if she thought it meant losing her life, she would have chosen more wisely. The fact still remains that this so called Doctor may have done a bang up job on her. If he did, he should pay. Who does an eight hour surgery, then sends the patient home? Any surgery that takes more than 3 hours, the Doctor should be experienced enough to know, that patient at least needs an 24-hour observation period. So instead of talking crap, pray for the West family, pray for Kanye and pay attention to the quack doctors that we trust our lives with on a daily basis. I sure as hell am, we need to stop looking for a quick fix and live each days as if it is our last and make these doctors pay for their mistakes.

Posted at 7:59PM on Nov 13th 2007 by Brenae

24. I know that all of the recent information about dr.adams is painting him to be a bad man,but having met him and knowing several people who he has conducted surgery upon(one being my mother) and several people who worked with him, I can tell you that he is a fine surgeon.

There is a very possible risk of complications when entering the realm of plasic surgery. If you dig up any practitioners records you will more than likely find many many malpratice suits. For many different reasons. The risks are very well known with patients and whether or not they think it can't happen to them the risks are stated and assumed to be understood before surgery and there are wavers to vouch for that.

Now,as I do not know if dr.adams did in fact,do something wrong I do not judge him on what happened to Kanyes mother. all I can speak on is the surgical process as a whole,which is riddled with well known risks.

I don't think its fair to vilify this man before the autopsy is even done. I think its unfair to neglect the possiblity of responsibility on the patients part maybe to devuldge medical history and information a doctor should be privy to prior of. This is what makes plastic surgery so dangerous,peoples neglect of the possibly of very serious risks and peoples unrealistic expectations.

Please people,don't ruin peoples livelihood on assumption. I know kanye is a celebrity and its hard to be biased when it comes to that of celebrity but Dr.Adams is person to,one who is not perfect, With a risky job and one who deserves the benifit of the doubt.

Posted at 8:53PM on Nov 13th 2007 by brittney

25. I had surgery with Dr. Adams, and I too was told that he was Board Certified. After many complications I had to have reconstructive surgery that will take me over a year to pay off.

Posted at 10:47PM on Nov 13th 2007 by concerned patient

26. So.. for those confused... (more at www.plasticologist.com)

here's the breakdown...

1. Finish College

2. Finish Medical School -> now you're an MD
- you can perform medical procedures and medical evaluation under a training program license. Most training programs provide malpractice insurance. You cannot practice medicine (legally) in any state in the US without additional training.

3. Finish Residency training in a particular field -> now you can become licensed.
- Once you are licensed you can "hang a shingle" and begin practicing. You can apply for hospital privileges, participate in insurance programs (blue cross) and practice medicine.
- This is where people (rightfully so) begin to get confused. ANY MD can perform ANY medical procedure. (This is _certainly_ not to say they should.. but legally they can). So an OB-GYN can perform a brain tumor excision. Now there are limits that can be imposed by hospitals (most hospitals will not grant privileges outside of your training). But surgery centers and certainly private offices may not have these restrictions. And if a physician is sued for practices outside of training they may be dropped by an insurance carrier.

(you also need to pass three certification exams between medical school and residency to become license eligible).

4. Board Certification
For plastic surgery there is only one recognized certification and that is the American Board Of Plastic Surgery. To be board certified a physician must 1. graduate from a recognized plastic surgery residency, 2. apply for the boards and take and pass a written test, 3. Collect cases for several months after which time these cases are reviewed and if deemed appropriate a second oral exam is given about selected cases the physician has performed and unknown cases.

Then they can say they are a board certified plastic surgeon.

The problem is there are many unrecognized "board certifications" (eg board of cosmetic surgery, board of aesthetic surgery, etc.) In addition physicians may say they are board certified and actually may be but maybe that certification is in pediatrics.

It is easy to get confused. And with the money more physicians are trying to capture a piece of the pie.

Posted at 1:15AM on Nov 14th 2007 by plasticologist.com

27. when considering surgery, you can go to the library and find out in a book they have who is truly board certified. Its a shame certain dishonest DR's take someones life in their hands.

Posted at 9:59AM on Nov 14th 2007 by anon

28. As a patient of this office (different doctor) I would never have this man cut me open with a knife. Mean to his patients, Mean to his staff. I don't know how he ever built up a practice. He is down right scary! Saw it with my own eyes.

Posted at 10:10AM on Nov 14th 2007 by Dawn

29.
MY THING IS THIS WHY DO EVERYBODY WANT 2 SPEAK UP NOW ABOUT WUT HE HAS DONE 2 THEM WHY DIDN'T THEY SPEAK UP ABOUT HIM BEFORE???ESPECIALLY AFTER HE HAD BEEN ON THE OPRAH SHOW & YOU KNEW OF THIS MAN..YOU HAD BAD EXPERIENCE WITH HIM..I MEAN HER LIFE COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED NOW THEY TRYING 2 SAY THAT IT WASN'T SURGERY RELATED..OK THEN MY QUESTION IS THIS..IF SHE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THAT SURGERY WOULD SHE HAVE PASSED AWAY ANYWAY WUTZ IT HER TIME?????? I GUESS NOW WE WILL NEVER KNOW NOW I JUST THINK THAT HOURS AFTER SHE HAD THIS SURGERY SHE PASSED AWAY, IT HAD 2 DO WITH COMPLICATION FROM THE SURGERY..THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER PLASTIC SURGEON THAT REFUSE 2 DO THE SURGERY UNTIL SHE GOTTEN A MEDICAL CLEARANCE..SO MZ. WEST NEVER WENT BACK 2 THAT SURGEON, BECAUSE THE SURGEON SAID HER HEALTH PROBLEMS COULD CAUSE A HEART ATTACK..I KNOW ONE THING SE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED A BEAUTIFUL PERSON..MY PRAYERS GOES OUT 2 KANYE & HIS FAMILY @ THIS TRYING TIME ..

Posted at 11:21PM on Nov 16th 2007 by KARASI

30. MY THING IS THIS WHY DO EVERYBODY WANT 2 SPEAK UP NOW ABOUT WUT HE
HAS DONE 2 THEM WHY DIDN'T THEY SPEAK UP ABOUT HIM
BEFORE???ESPECIALLY AFTER HE HAD BEEN ON THE OPRAH SHOW & YOU KNEW OF
THIS MAN..YOU HAD BAD EXPERIENCE WITH HIM..I MEAN HER LIFE COULD HAVE
BEEN SAVED NOW THEY TRYING 2 SAY THAT IT WASN'T SURGERY RELATED..OK
THEN MY QUESTION IS THIS..IF SHE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THAT SURGERY WOULD
SHE HAVE PASSED AWAY ANYWAY WUTZ IT HER TIME?????? I GUESS NOW WE WILL
NEVER KNOW NOW I JUST THINK THAT HOURS AFTER SHE HAD THIS SURGERY SHE
PASSED AWAY, IT HAD 2 DO WITH COMPLICATION FROM THE SURGERY..THEN YOU
HAVE ANOTHER PLASTIC SURGEON THAT REFUSE 2 DO THE SURGERY UNTIL SHE
GOTTEN A MEDICAL CLEARANCE..SO MZ. WEST NEVER WENT BACK 2 THAT
SURGEON, BECAUSE THE SURGEON SAID HER HEALTH PROBLEMS COULD CAUSE A
HEART ATTACK..I KNOW ONE THING SE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED A BEAUTIFUL
PERSON..MY PRAYERS GOES OUT 2 KANYE & HIS FAMILY @ THIS TRYING TIME
..

Posted at 11:23PM on Nov 16th 2007 by KARASI