The Milwaukee Post

By BRIAN HUBER Conley News Service MILWAUKEE — The death of a former Waukesha woman who died following a 2003 cosmetic sur- gery in Florida may have reper- cussions nationally if a bill announced Wednesday is passed into law. Rep. Christine Sinicki, D- Milwaukee, introduced the "Julie Ayer Rubenzer Law" in Madison that calls for video cameras installed in any surgical setting to document surgeries in case com- plications arise. She said the bill would allow fines of up to $25,000 for facilities that fail to record pro- cedures or offer patients the option of having the surgery recorded. The recordings would fall under federal privacy protec- tion for health care matters. "I've been talking with people across the state about some of these issues and the importance is there are so many families who feel that they may have had a malprac- tice case and they have suffered some kind of injury or possibly death as a result of some kind of surgery or physician, this not only gives those families a tool to help prove, but it also gives doctors a tool to help disprove any wrongdo- ing," Sinicki said. "This is a way to start the conversation. ... I have seen issues before the Legislature that were really good issues we could not gain traction on until the public got involved. I think once this is introduced and people understand it, John Public out there (will think) this makes sense." Rubenzer, 38, died of brain dam- age from a lack of oxygen follow- ing a Sept. 25, 2003, breast augmen- tation surgery in Florida, during which she was given excessive lev- els of propofol — the same drug administered to Michael Jackson — in combination with other drugs. Her family flew Rubenzer back to Waukesha, where she died Dec. 26, 2003. The doctor who performed the surgery, Kurt Dangl, had his med- ical license revoked by the state of Florida in 2005 after an adminis- trative law judge ruled that he administered excessive levels of the anesthetic propofol to Rubenz- er, failed to log her medications properly and dispensed drugs that he was not permitted to do. But her death was ruled acci- dental and no criminal charges were ever issued. The family has tried unsuccessfully to have her manner of death changed from accidental to homicide. Rubenzer's case was chronicled in a book her father, Don Ayer of Waukesha, wrote called "The Who's Next Club: A Parents' Diary of a Cosmetic Surgery Disaster," and has garnered attention around the nation. Her brother Wade Ayer, who has been working via social media with people who claim wrongdo- ing by doctors, was a key factor in pushing for such a law. He said he has been told that if the bill was passed into law, it would be the first such law in the nation. "The Julie Ayer Rubenzer case will go down in U.S. medical histo- ry as a landmark case study as to why a 'black box' and/or audio or video recording are necessary in a surgery setting," he said. Ayer added that the cost of the recording would be nominal and fall on the patient, who would have the choice of requesting a proce- dure be recorded. "The bottom line is you want to make sure there is transparency for everybody, that's the bottom line," Wade Ayer said. "People don't realize that having a surgery is a major decision and if some- thing goes wrong you and your family need to know what hap- pened. And it may be the only key piece of evidence you may have to win a settlement." Email: bhuber@conleynet.com April 24, 2015 • Milwaukee County Post • 3 Milwaukee's Sinicki announces bill to have surgeries recorded Family of former Waukesha woman behind effort Rubenzer PACKARD PLAZA MALL(N-East)Side 5656 S. Packard • 414-897-7737 243900024 Hours: Tues-Fri 10-7pm Saturday 9-5pm Foil Pie Pans 25 ¢ T-Shirts 50 ¢ Sunglasses 75 ¢ Swim Goggles 75 ¢ 18pk Heavy Weight Birthday Plates 75 ¢ Mens Hats 75 ¢ Metal Hose Nozzles 90 ¢ Dog Toys $1.00 LED Flashlight $1.00 Silicone Spatula $1.00 Knee Pads $2.00 Gallon Dish Soap $3.00 50pk 10 " X 8" SLIDER LOCK FOOD STORAGE BAGS each $ 1 00 or 3/$ 2 50 1 / 2 3397 South Howell Ave • Milwaukee, WI 53207 • 414-744-6370 National Be Kind to Animals Week is May 4-9 and its our annual See next week's Milwaukee Post for more details. 243900073

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