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MURRAY — A patient of a doctor who was arrested and stripped of his medical license is claiming she never got the follow up care she needed.
Sherrie Coombs-Larsen had a tummy tuck last year, but said it became a nightmare after the surgery — she said she got little attention after the fact. She believes there are many other former patients who are also facing similar issues and even emotional scars.
"What do we do next, I'd like someone to tell me. What do we do next?" asked Coombs-Larsen, a former patient of Dr. Joseph Berg, who was charged in November with aggravated kidnapping after he was accused of tying up his girlfriend in a bedroom closet.
Coombs-Larsen is frustrated by what happened.
"I'd lost a lot of weight and it was hard work to get that and so I did need to have the surgery to remove the extra skin," she said.
Last summer, she paid out of pocket for a cosmetic surgery performed by Berg. While the surgery was successful, she said it became nearly impossible to get follow-up care. She said she would wait several hours for an appointment — and usually the doctor wouldn't show.
At her last visit, Berg's girlfriend was at the front desk and Berg was alone in the exam room.
"I found out the staff had quit and that I was not notified," Coombs-Larsen said.
The next week, Berg was arrested at his home. On Monday, Berg, who had already lost his medical license, was ordered to spend six months in jail.
"I have some incisions that have hardened and I feel like if he would have finished the follow-up care, that the incisions would look much better," Coombs-Larsen said.
Berg told the judge he has been undergoing treatment for substance abuse.
"Knowing what I know now, I truly believe he was under the influence of something that day," Coombs-Larsen said.
Not only did she not get her follow up care she paid for, she can't get her medical records to take to another doctor, something she fears other patients are also facing.
"It would be nice to have someone to talk to to see if they are having the same feelings, because it is a distressful feeling," she said.
KSL reached out to the attorney for Dr. Berg, but calls were not returned. Utah's Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing told KSL that anyone else dealing with similar issues can file a complaint.
By law, a doctors whose licenses have been suspended are still obligated to provide medical records to their patients.
