Nose job, breast job, liposuction, death: State complaint against a Miami doctor
Before a comprehensive cosmetic surgery, a Miami doctor injected a patient with three times the proper maximum dose of an anesthetic and twice the maximum amount for a 24-hour period, a state complaint said.
Dr. Rian Maercks' patient died three days after her surgery.
The Florida Department of Health's administrative complaint, filed March 25, begins what would be the first disciplinary action against Maercks in the 16 years he has been licensed in Florida. He has been American Board of Plastic Surgery certified since November 2018.
Maercks did not return a phone call or respond to an email from the Miami Herald seeking comment.
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Plastic surgery problems at The Maercks Institute
According to the complaint, a patient referred to as 'J.T.' showed up at The Maercks Institute, 3050 Biscayne Blvd., on Jan. 18, 2023, for these plastic surgery procedures: rhytidectomy (facelift); blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery); abdominoplasty (tummy tuck); rhinoplasty (nose job); breast lift; genioplasty (work on the chin); liposuction; and body contouring via fat grafting.
The Maercks Institute has held office surgery registration license No. OSR 1681 under Maercks' name since May 24, 2022, which allows 'surgery with moderate/conscious to deep sedation.' A previous license under 'The Maercks Institute' shows as 'Closed.'
During the surgery, the complaint said, Maercks injected 400 mg of Marcaine and 532 mg of Exparel, each the brand name version of a local anesthetic bupivacaine. That's 932 mg of bupivacaine injected into J.T.
'The maximum dose of bupivacaine as an injection is between 225 mg and 266 mg,' the complaint said. 'The maximum amount of bupivacaine that should be administered to a patient in a 24-hour period is 400 mg.'
READ MORE: Unqualified gas passer in Broward butt-lift death lost her license. The surgeon hasn't
The surgery lasted from 12:44 p.m. to 8:21 p.m. While in a post-anesthesia care unit over two hours later, 'J.T. became agitated and removed her IV. She was given 1 mg of sedative Versed at 10:56 p.m., then another milligram at 11:20 p.m.
'J.T. experienced a significant drop in her blood oxygen saturation,' the complaint said. 'At 11:59 p.m., Miami Fire Rescue was summoned to the facility. At 12:15 a.m., [Maercks] and staff initiated CPR due to J.T.'s weak pulse and further blood oxygen desaturation. At 12:18 a.m., Miami Fire Rescue arrived and performed CPR on J.T., who no longer had a pulse.'
While J.T.'s breathing returned, doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, found she had 'suffered an irreversible' a brain injury from being without oxygen for too long.
J.T. died on Jan. 21, 2023.
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