Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada: "It's Despicable What These Doctors Have Done"

March 27, 2008, 07:30:00PM. By Heidi Turner

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Cave Junction, OR: Lori P. is extremely upset that she was exposed to Hepatits B, C and HIV through procedures performed at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Lori has fibromyalgia and post traumatic stress disorder and, during the time she was treated at the Endoscopy Center, had numerous procedures. She says she still cannot believe that her doctors exposed her to such serious diseases.

"When I was going to the center I was living in Arizona, but I have since moved," Lori says. "I chose the doctors at the center because of a bad experience I had with a local GI. I was certain I had found the right place because the Endoscopy Center had so many locations. I had two endoscopies, one colonoscopy and three to five botox injections in my stomach [for gastroparesis]. At one point the doctors had talked about performing surgery because I had problems less than six months after they started treatments. However, when I asked them about surgery they said 'no,' and I had my last botox injection in May 2006, before I moved.

"I got the letter [warning about Hepatitis B, C and HIV] on March 14, and did the tests on March 21. I can't even tell you how scared I was. The whole time since I received the letter I've been freaked out. It took me a whole week to even go to have the lab work done because I was so afraid. I researched it online and they were talking about the doctors I had seen at the center and the dates I was there.

"When I got to the hospital for the tests, I thought I was okay but I hadn't seen all the paperwork yet. When I sat down in the check-in I looked at the paperwork and just felt overwhelmingly embarrassed and ashamed. I wondered what the woman at the check-in was thinking of me. I felt like I had to explain why I would need these tests. When I told people that I was a patient at the Endoscopy Center they were all horrified.

"I received my results late yesterday. I thought I would be relieved to see that the results were negative, but I'm still extremely angry. I still have anxiety over this. I've had three to five anxiety attacks a day since receiving the initial letter. I'm still very upset. I'm angry that I was put through this. I can't believe that a doctor would reuse one-time-use items. It's appalling to me.

"It really is scary...it really is. It has changed my life and changed how I look at things. The one thing that you think you can trust—you have a relationship of trust with a doctor. This is the last thing that you would expect. I'm scared to death to do this again. I have an appointment with a gastro doctor and I'm afraid to go. I'm afraid they'll tell me to have another endoscopy. I'm scared to get treatment.

"I've had terrible anxiety attacks over this whole thing. That I was even subjected to this—it's despicable what these doctors have done. It just takes one bad doctor."

Patients of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada are now investigating the possibility of a lawsuit against the center and its directors, alleging they were exposed to Hepatitis B, C and HIV as a result of negligent practices on the part of center staff.

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