Thomas v. Sifers

535 F. Supp. 2d 1200, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94527, 2007 WL 4561493
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedDecember 21, 2007
Docket07-2005-JWL
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 535 F. Supp. 2d 1200 (Thomas v. Sifers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. Sifers, 535 F. Supp. 2d 1200, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94527, 2007 WL 4561493 (D. Kan. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM, District Judge.

This lawsuit arises from complications following a bariatric weight reduction surgery that was performed on plaintiff Carla Thomas by Timothy M. Sifers, M.D., who is now deceased. Ms. Thomas alleges that Dr. Sifers was supposed to perform the surgery using a new technique called the duodenal switch, a procedure that is allegedly associated with fewer complications than older weight loss procedures, but that Dr. Sifers actually performed an unrecognized and unknown variation of a much older procedure and, as a result, Ms. Thomas suffered severe complications. Ms. Thomas asserts claims against Dr. Sifers’ medical practice and his estate (collectively referred to as Dr. Sifers) for fraud, negligence, battery, and a violation of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. This matter is currently before the court on defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (doc. #33) based on the applicable statutes of limitations. For the reasons explained below, the court will deny the *1202 motion as to plaintiffs fraud and negligence claims, and will grant the motion as to plaintiffs battery and Kansas Consumer Protection Act claims. 1

STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS 2

Plaintiff Carla Thomas originally scheduled to undergo a gastric bypass procedure with another physician to alleviate serious health problems associated with her morbid obesity, including a pseudotu-mor cerebri. On February 28, 2001, her mother called her and said she had seen a Healthwatch report on her local news station that featured Dr. Sifers as performing a new and revolutionary weight loss surgery in Kansas City called the duodenal switch. In the segment, Dr. Sifers spoke about a “new” weight reduction procedure that allows patients to eat whatever they want and still lose weight while having few side effects. Ms. Thomas’s mother called and discussed the surgery with her because she knew that Ms. Thomas was already scheduled to undergo the gastric bypass. Ms. Thomas and her mother, sitting together, called Dr. Sifers’ office to set up a consultation appointment for Ms. Thomas.

During the consultation on March 5, 2001, Dr. Sifers represented to Ms. Thomas in consultation and in the presence of her mother that he would perform the new weight reduction surgery upon her, the duodenal switch, the same procedure that he had previously represented on the Healthwatch segment that he could perform. He told her that she did not want to have the gastric bypass she had previously scheduled with another surgeon because if she did she could gain her weight back, her stomach would stretch out, she would go blind, and then she would die from complications related to her pseudotumor cerebri. Dr. Sifers told her that he was familiar with her pseudotumor cerebri and that his duodenal switch surgery was actually a treatment for it because she would lose the weight with his procedure and keep it off, unlike the gastric bypass. After the consultation, Ms. Thomas cancelled the appointment she had previously scheduled to undergo the gastric bypass with another physician and she scheduled to have Dr. Sifers perform the new procedure.

Prior to the surgery, Dr. Sifers and his staff informed Ms. Thomas that there would be several probable but temporary side effects that would diminish after the first six months following her surgery. Dr. Sifers told Ms. Thomas that gallstones, poor sugar and fat absorption, reflux, diarrhea, and bowel odor were all probable results of the surgery, but that these would only be temporary side effects that would otherwise subside over time. Ms. Thomas understood that one of the benefits of the duodenal switch surgery would be the avoidance of “dumping syndrome.” 3 *1203 Dr. Sifers advised her that as long as she avoided sugary foods and ate a lot of protein, she could otherwise eat whatever she wanted. He told her that she would lose weight and never gain it back as long as she didn’t “sit around all day drinking Coke and eating Hershey’s Kisses.”

The surgery was performed on March 19, 2001. Dr. Sifers contends that he performed a biliopancreatic diversion. In support of this, he points out that prior to her surgery Ms. Thomas signed a consent authorizing him to perform a “biliary [sic] pancreatic diversion with partial gastrecto-my” and that his operative notes list the operation performed as “[bjiliopancreatic diversion.” Ms. Thomas, on the other hand, contends that Dr. Sifers performed an unknown and unrecognized procedure despite his representations that he would perform the duodenal switch procedure. She also points out that his standing orders for her suggest that he was performing the duodenal switch, as those orders are entitled “Standing Orders for Vertical Banded Gastoplasty and Duodenal Switches” and they state as follows: “For duodenal switches: patient will received golytely prep and Reglan 10mg from office.” Regardless of the parties’ dispute about the nature of the procedure actually performed, it is uncontroverted that, unbeknownst to Ms. Thomas, Dr. Sifers did not perform the dupdenal switch or even the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. Ms. Thomas was discharged from the hospital on March 23, 2001.

Ms. Thomas suffered from a number of complications following the surgery. Dr. Sifers’ motion for summary judgment is grounded in the notion that by the end of 2003 she had begun experiencing a multitude of health problems beyond what she associated with the duodenal switch procedure. For example, she had to have her gall bladder and appendix removed; she had incisional hernias repaired; she was not able to eat anything she wanted, and in fact even drinking water caused her to experience diarrhea; she would vomit whenever she tried to eat steak, rice, or pasta; she suffered dry, flaky, pale skin; she experienced constant hunger; she had headaches; she had hair loss; she experienced dental problems, including a cracked tooth; she had poor sleep patterns; she had diarrhea continuously and that diarrhea, which she thought would last no more than three to six months post-opera-tively, was actually worse six months after surgery; she suffered six to eight anal fissures; she has had vomiting and nausea constantly; she had fainting spells; she was diagnosed with acute anemia; she had low blood pressure; she developed hypo-throidism; she began having heart palpitations; she developed shortness of breath; she suffered from fatigue; she suffered from the daily effects of “dumping syndrome” in that she has more than ten bowel movements a day and albover aches, cramps, and tenderness; and she suffered a “horrid” increase in the frequency and odor of her bowel movements and gas. Her health problems were so severe that she considered surgical reversal of her weight loss procedure as early as April of 2003. When she inquired of Dr. Sifers about the possibility of a reversal, he advised her that she did not want her weight loss procedure reversed because she would gain her weight back, go blind, and die.

Dr. Sifers saw Ms. Thomas for a total of fifteen follow up visits for a period of over three and a half years on the following dates: April 4, 2001, May 2, 2001, June 25, 2001, August 27, 2001, October 24, 2001, *1204

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535 F. Supp. 2d 1200, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94527, 2007 WL 4561493, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-sifers-ksd-2007.