Surgeon: 'No idea' why commissioner's sister died at Strax
The cosmetic surgeon who performed a minor procedure on the sister of a Broward County commissioner said Wednesday he has "absolutely no idea" what went wrong during the operation before her death last week.
Rony Wendrow, 61, was in good health, passed a pre-surgery medical screening and had been through plastic surgery before with the same anesthesia used during the procedure, Dr. Harold M. Bass said.
Rony Wendrow, 61, was in good health, passed a pre-surgery medical screening and had been through plastic surgery before with the same anesthesia used during the procedure, Dr. Harold M. Bass said.
"We had just started. The case was going so beautifully and all of a sudden she had a cardiac [emergency]," Bass said. "In all honesty, I have absolutely no idea what happened. We have no clue at all. … I truly believe it wasn't anything we did or didn't do in the surgery room."
Broward County medical examiners said they have not determined the cause of her death and are awaiting test results.
Wendrow, a retired Tamarac teacher and sister of Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, went to Strax Rejuvenation and Aesthetics Institute on May 16 to have her neck and eyelids tightened, Bass said. He called it a minor operation that typically takes 30 to 40 minutes.
Bass said he gave her a local-acting anesthesia that left her groggy but conscious, one he had used before on her and others with no complications. He said the dosage was normal.
He said he had just started operating on her neck when she developed breathing problems. While a Strax emergency team attended to her, she developed heart problems, Bass said. Wendrow was rushed to Florida Medical Center, where she died on May 19.
"I'm extraordinarily upset about her passing," Bass said. "I knew her for 23 years. She was a wonderful, wonderful lady."
Bass, a surgeon for 28 years, has no record of disciplinary action by the state. State insurance records show he settled two medical malpractice cases in 2008 and 2001.
Wendrow's family is grieving and does not want to comment on her death at this time, Lieberman said Wednesday.
Wendrow is the fourth patient to die in connection with cosmetic procedures at Strax, a busy surgery office in Lauderhill. Bass is one of 14 surgeons who operate there, all of whom are independent and not employees of Strax.
State health officials investigated a 2008 death and filed disciplinary charges against a surgeon, a case the doctor is contesting. In a 2009 death, officials investigated and found no fault.
In the third case, an autopsy found a woman died accidentally on Dec. 27 from a bloodstream blockage resulting from fat injections into her buttocks. State health officials have declined to say if they are investigating that death or the death of Wendrow.
An attorney for Strax, Peter Mineo Jr., said it is "irresponsible" to have news coverage of Wendrow's death when it's unclear why she died. The center declines to comment, out of respect for the family's privacy, he said.
Mineo said Strax has a lower death rate in cosmetic surgery than the national average.
Broward County medical examiners said they have not determined the cause of her death and are awaiting test results.
Wendrow, a retired Tamarac teacher and sister of Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, went to Strax Rejuvenation and Aesthetics Institute on May 16 to have her neck and eyelids tightened, Bass said. He called it a minor operation that typically takes 30 to 40 minutes.
Bass said he gave her a local-acting anesthesia that left her groggy but conscious, one he had used before on her and others with no complications. He said the dosage was normal.
He said he had just started operating on her neck when she developed breathing problems. While a Strax emergency team attended to her, she developed heart problems, Bass said. Wendrow was rushed to Florida Medical Center, where she died on May 19.
"I'm extraordinarily upset about her passing," Bass said. "I knew her for 23 years. She was a wonderful, wonderful lady."
Bass, a surgeon for 28 years, has no record of disciplinary action by the state. State insurance records show he settled two medical malpractice cases in 2008 and 2001.
Wendrow's family is grieving and does not want to comment on her death at this time, Lieberman said Wednesday.
Wendrow is the fourth patient to die in connection with cosmetic procedures at Strax, a busy surgery office in Lauderhill. Bass is one of 14 surgeons who operate there, all of whom are independent and not employees of Strax.
State health officials investigated a 2008 death and filed disciplinary charges against a surgeon, a case the doctor is contesting. In a 2009 death, officials investigated and found no fault.
In the third case, an autopsy found a woman died accidentally on Dec. 27 from a bloodstream blockage resulting from fat injections into her buttocks. State health officials have declined to say if they are investigating that death or the death of Wendrow.
An attorney for Strax, Peter Mineo Jr., said it is "irresponsible" to have news coverage of Wendrow's death when it's unclear why she died. The center declines to comment, out of respect for the family's privacy, he said.
Mineo said Strax has a lower death rate in cosmetic surgery than the national average.
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