Felicia Mars

Felicia Miars was an office clerk who tipped the scales at 270 lbs at a height of 5’7” while in her early twenties. She struggled with obesity after giving birth to her son and finally opted for gastric bypass surgery. On September 5, 2002, she underwent the surgery at Corona Regional Medical Center, performed by Dr. Terry Sanderfer.

While she survived the surgery, she developed a serious staff infection which was down played by Dr. Sanderfer. He was positive and told her family that she would be fine. That was not the case as she died four weeks later, leaving behind a 2-year old son. During that month she suffered massive internal bleeding and organ failure.

Her husband sued Dr. Sanderfer for $275,000 in a negligence lawsuit. Sadly, this is not unique to this doctor because 13 of his patients have died from complications related to gastric bypass. While this may seem like a lot, his lawyer states that out of the 1,500 patients that the doctor operated on, only a handful died, which falls into the 1 to 2 percent mortality fate for the surgery. Currently, this doctor is no longer performing this procedure and his medical license is under review by the California Medical Board. The cost of medical malpractice insurance is also another factor in his decision.

On the flipside, most of the doctor’s former patients have said that he has transformed their lives. The research in finding a good surgeon is vital when undergoing such a serious procedure, but even with the most competent doctor there is risk involved.

Source: People Magazine Vol 64. Issue 10

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