Florida woman remains in critical condition after procedure at spa

Rohie Kah went to a Weston, Fla., spa Friday morning for what a friend called a minor cosmetic procedure. The 37-year-old mother of three left Weston MedSpa later that afternoon in an ambulance headed for Cleveland Clinic Florida, where she remained Tuesday in critical condition.

Exactly what transpired in the intervening hours is a mystery, but attorneys representing Kah's family assert that whatever happened in the spa was not minor.

"Something really bad happened there," said Michael Freedland, a Weston attorney who described Kah, of Miramar, Fla., as being "clinically brain dead."

Freedland said Kah's friend drove her to the spa the day of the incident, and that doctors and family members have relayed to him details of her condition and theories of what occurred.

"She had some kind of seizure or multiple seizures during or after the procedure," Freedland said, adding that "someone at the facility tried to revive her" before paramedics were called.

Freedland said Kah's complications likely were related to the use of lidocaine, an anesthetic, adding, "What we understand is it was connected to a full lipo procedure."

But Weston MedSpa is not a licensed clinic or health care facility, said Tiffany Vause, a spokeswoman for the state's Agency for Health Care Administration, which regulates medical facilities.

"We believe that they're a beauty, health and relaxation spa," Vause said.

Police are investigating the incident, said Veda Coleman Wright, a spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff's Office.

The BSO report describes Kah's injuries as "serious" but does not elaborate or give a cause.

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The only certainty so far is that Kah's family is devastated, said Oking Habib, a nephew who flew in from Dallas on Sunday to console Kah's husband, Joseph Roukotan, and her three children, ages 4, 5 and 7.

"She's a very sweet lady," Habib said Tuesday following a news conference held by Freedland to announce the incident. "She holds the family together."

Roukotan was too distraught to comment, said Kah's stepson, Joseph Orukotan, 20, of Kendall, Fla.

"We're just hanging in there, the whole family," he said.

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Weston MedSpa, which is registered as Weston Tan & Spa with the Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations, is a storefront in a strip plaza, tucked between a chicken restaurant and a beauty parlor. Red letters that spell "TANNING" sit above the front door.

A woman at the spa who identified herself as Adriana Gomez, who is listed as manager of the facility in state records, declined comment before she locked the door and drew the blinds.

The spa's Web site advertises tanning, waxing, massages and medical services, such as Botox and Carboxytherapy, in which carbon dioxide is injected into the skin.

Freedland said Dr. Omar Brito was responsible for Kah's health and safety during her visit to the spa, though he is not certain whether Brito was present at the time of the incident.

"The family was given his business card and told by somebody that he was there," Freedland said.

Brito, whose college diploma hangs on a wall in the spa's waiting area, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

His physician profile on the Florida Department of Health Web site denotes no training in plastic surgery, though Brito is affiliated with a Pembroke Pines facility, MG Medical & Aesthetic, which advertises cosmetic liposuction.

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Brito has staff privileges at Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah, the same hospital where Kah worked as a registered nurse, but it is unknown whether they ever met.

Vilma Medio, director of business development for Palmetto General, said Brito's privileges are for worker's compensation and occupational medicine, though he has not treated anyone at the hospital since 2003.

Brito's online profile includes a record of disciplinary action for an allegation that he helped an unlicensed person to practice medicine in an insurance fraud scheme, according to state records.

Brito was never charged with a crime and did not admit wrongdoing, but he settled in October 2006 by paying a $5,000 fine and serving 200 hours of community service, according to the records.

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As Kah's family and friends piece together the events that led to her hospitalization, plastic surgery experts warned that patients should understand the risks involved with any procedure _ no matter how simple it may seem.

"One of the things that I remind patients is that plastic surgery is not a trip to the beauty parlor," said Dr. Jorge Perez, a Fort Lauderdale physician and board member of the Broward County Society of Plastic Surgeons. "It carries risks, just like any other surgery, and it needs to be done by a trained individual with safe anesthesia in a safe facility."