As the doctor was cutting her left eyelid, Sable Tyree woke up from the cosmetic surgery, startled by the sight of the surgeon's knife and her own blood.
She screamed, pleading, "No, please."In response, someone jerked her head back and told her to shut up, Tyree testified.
Tyree was the central witness during nearly 10 hours of testimony against Ogden physician Wesley Grant Harline, owner of the Harline Weber Clinic, in a licensing hearing.
Administrative Law Judge J. Steven Eklund ruled Thursday to restrict Harline's license until a hearing is held before the Physicians Licensing Board addressing further complaints. No date has been set. Defending Harline, attorney Paul N. Cotro-Manes has taken the matter to be reviewed in 3rd District Court by Judge David S. Young to determine if the licensing division injunction should be upheld.
On the witness stand Tuesday, Tyree emotionally recalled spending seven days unattended in Harline's "filthy" clinic, sleeping on sheets that were stained with blood that was not her own, begging for pain medication and serving as a "den mother" for those who also suffered. One woman, still sedated, fell out of her bed and wandered the halls.
A receptionist from Beverly Hills, Calif., Tyree traveled to Utah for cosmetic surgery to "save money." A friend had recommended Harline to her. When Tyree arrived on March 7 about 5:30 p.m., Harline interviewed her briefly and asked for cash - $4,000 - to pay for the two surgeries Tyree had requested, ear surgery and breast implants. Harline suggested an additional surgery on her eyelids. She could pay by a personal check, she testified.
Within a few hours of her arrival, Harline said he had a cancellation; he would take her immediately into surgery. Tyree had consumed alcohol and food on her airline flight and was concerned about going into surgery on a full stomach - but Harline didn't take the time to discuss the surgery, the potential risks or ask her to sign a consent form.
Harline performed all three operations simultaneously without attaching an intravenous tube, she testified.
"I still have nightmares about it," said Tyree, her voice breaking.
When she awoke, she was in excruciating pain. Only after threatening to call an ambulance did she receive a shot from Harline, who yelled at her.
"There was blood everywhere - bloody towels and piles of garbage," she testified. Drugs were kept in open cabinets; there were no assistants or nurses around on weekends; people smoked near the surgery area. Patients shopped at a local market for their own food and drinks.
Six days later, Tyree saw Harline for the first time since her surgery. He removed some of the stitches and suggested another doctor remove the rest.
Calling the licensing hearing a star chamber, Harline's attorney Cotro-Manes criticized the licensing division's "unconstitutional" procedures and denied all allegations against Harline. The Ogden doctor was not present.
Cotro-Manes suggested Tyree was testifying to bolster a "malpractice lawsuit" against Harline. Conceding that she did intend to file a suit, Tyree replied: "I have nothing to gain by being here. I don't want to see anyone else hurt."
Another witness, Britney Marx, Phoenix, testified Harline "disfigured" her when he performed breast-implant surgery on her at his Utah clinic. She contends her right breast implant "popped" when she was on the airplane descending into the Arizona airport. She received emergency care to relieve the pressure her large implants placed on her lungs. Marx alleges that Harline's knife slipped during the surgery and he inserted silicone implants instead of saline ones. Marx said she intends to sue Harline.
Two Utah plastic surgeons testified that Harline is not practicing competent medicine.
Dr. Larry G. Leonard said that not using an i.v. during surgery "could be fatal" if emergency fluids or medications could not be administered. "It's safety that I see compromised here," he said.
"If the division has a legal means of preventing his kind of practice, then it should," he testified.
Patients were at risk if the allegations are true, said Dr. T. Scott Lindley. His most serious concern was the lack of post-operative monitoring. There could be a great risk of bleeding, infection or cardiac arrest.
"Patients have died from a blood clot to the heart after receiving a tummy tuck," he said.
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(Additional information)
Limitations imposed on surgeon's license
After listening to more than 10 hours of testimony by witnesses with complaints against Ogden physician Wesley Grant Harline, Administrative Law Judge J. Steven Eklund, with the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, imposed the following restrictions on Harline's license:
- He must provide adequate information to allow each patient to make informed decisions. Patients must sign a consent form.
- He must quit using injectable liquid silicone.
- He must employee licensed health-care professionals to ensure adequate care and submit work schedules to the licensing division.
- He must employ either a licensed physician or nurse anesthetist to administer general anesthesia and ensure that an intravenous line is provided for all patients in surgical procedures.
- He must employee a registered nurse approved by the licensing board.
- He must provide access to his clinic to authorized licensing division personnel at reasonable times to examine the facilities and methods of storing, dispensing and administering medications.