Weight Loss Surgery Leads To Woman Losing Legs!

September 14th, 2011

CBS 2 Chicago

By: Dave Savini

A weight-loss surgery turned into a nightmare and cost a woman both of her legs.

CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini examines allegations that she was not properly monitored or treated, in part, because she was hospitalized during a holiday.

Life for Mary Beth Ruphard has changed drastically since last Thanksgiving. Weighing 278 pounds, she went to Provena St. Joseph Medical Center, in Joliet, for surgery to beat her battle with obesity.

“I just wanted to live longer, live better you know, said Ruphard. “I had diabetes (and) hypertension as my risk factors.”

Ruphard had weight-loss surgery in early November, then was back in the hospital for surgery to repair a perforation. Then, on Thanksgiving morning, she started complaining about her legs.

“I did complain to a nurse,” said Ruphard. “I say, ‘my legs, they are aching and they are tingling.’”

Repeated notes in her medical chart say Ruphard’s toes were cold and blue then later there was no feeling below the knees. She reportedly was losing circulation, but no immediate action was taken, according to her attorney Laird Ozmon.

“The doctor that amputated her legs was highly upset and made the statement, ‘Why was I not called in earlier’?” said Ozmon.

Ozmon says it then took 36 hours for another surgeon to be called in, to try and save her legs. It was too late and both legs had to be amputated.

“I remember laying in the bed kind of feeling down here and not being able to feel anything,” Ruphard said while pointing to the bottom of her leg. “No knees, no calves, no nothing.”

Ozmon filed a lawsuit against the medical center claiming they failed to monitor her and failed to act when she had symptoms of blood clots in her legs, even though he says they knew she had a pre-existing blood clotting condition.

“Simply because someone happens to get ill on a holiday doesn’t mean that their not entitled to that same standard of care, and that clearly, clearly in this case was not abided by,” said Ozmon.

Ruphard is still recovering and trying to deal with new limitations.

“Being able to walk alongside my husband holding his hand or, you know, dancing to our wedding song,” said Ruphard. “That’s not going to happen again.”

A statement from Provena St. Joseph Medical Center said the surgery carries risks and complications. It also said patients are diligently monitored and cared for.

“While patient privacy laws prevent us from commenting on the specifics of this isolated incident, this patient’s continued recovery remains in our prayers,” officials said in a prepared statement.

Click here for the full report from CBS 2 Chicago

Skechers Shape-Ups Blamed For Hip Fractures In Lawsuit

March 1st, 2011

ThatsFit.com

By: Deborah Dunham

Skechers Shape-up shoes claim they can tone your legs, but one woman is saying they injured hers.

Ohio resident Holly Ward has filed a lawsuit against the company stating that she developed stress fractures in both hips as a result of wearing the shoes.

Ward said that she wore the toning shoes during her job as a waitress and, after five months, developed severe pain in her hips. According to the lawsuit, the 38-year-old had no previous injuries and had a healthy bone density of a young woman, thereby alleging that the shoes were the culprits of her stress fractures.

The Shape-ups are a part of the company’s more than 3,000 styles of shoes. Their technology includes a soft kinetic wedge insert and rolling bottom to simulate walking on soft sand. There are different variations of the Shape-ups, including those made for walkers, runners, hikers and gym goers.

There is also a “for-work” Shape-up shoe, which the company’s website states is “perfect for industry professionals who want to get in shape while on the job.” These shoes are advertised to help reduce joint stress (among other things like burning calories, tightening abdominals and strengthening the back), which is the very nature of Ward’s injuries and resulting lawsuit.

“We do not know of any testing or safety studies that Skechers did to determine safety,” Ward’s attorney, Ronald Johnson, told ABC news. “If they’re going to invent a whole new way for a human being to walk, the very first thing they should do is studies to make sure that’s not going to harm their customers.”

Ward, who is now in physical therapy for her injuries and has pins in her hips due to the injuries, told “Good Morning America,” “The extended use of these shoes has injured me catastrophically.”
Ward added, “The femoral bone is the strongest bone in the human body, and I fractured not one but two of them without being in a car crash or any traumatic incident.”

The hype for Shape-ups began in 2009 when the shoes were introduced. Since then, Kim Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, have been named the new faces of the brand with a campaign called “Shaping Up With the Kardashians.” Yet even with the media hype, there has been repeated controversy over whether the toning shoes do indeed work.

The thing that everyone can agree on is that Shape-ups alter your natural foot pattern and the way you walk. In fact, there is little supporting data that any of the toning shoes on the market really work, and orthopedics, in particular, have remained skeptical about their benefits.

Ward’s lawyer said he has heard from more people with fractures and reports quoting doctors who say they’ve seen other injuries like strained Achilles tendons and falls because people lost their balance in the shoes.

Meanwhile, Skechers stands by its shoes, stating “millions of people wear Shape-ups without experiencing what Ms. Ward alleges.”

Click here for the full report from ThatsFit.com