What Happened at the Weston MedSpa That Left Rohie Kah Brain Dead?

Sept. 30, 2009 — -- A Florida mother of three is on life support after a visit to her local spa last week, her lawyers say.

"It's just a matter of time before she's dead," said Michael Freedland, one of the lawyers for 37-year-old Rohie Kah.

Freedland and his partner, Anthony Russo, said Kah visited the Weston MedSpa in Weston, Fla., Sept. 25, for what was believed to be a minor procedure.

Kah, a registered nurse, frequently visited the spa for services such as massages and manicures, Russo said.

"The only thing that is remotely similar to what we understand [Kah] told her friend she was going to have, is what they advertise on their Web site as 'Carboxytherapy,'" said Freedland, who is not certain what procedure his client actually received.

Carboxytherapy is described on MedSpa's Web site as a "medical service" that injects carbon dioxide into a patient to improve the appearance of cellulite or stretch marks. Prices for this service range from $140 to $160 per injection, according to the online pamphlet.

"And for a 37-year-old woman to go in there and come out brain dead, it just doesn't happen," Freedland said. "It should never happen."

The spa's slogan, "You deserve it, you're worth it," is listed on the site, along with offers to finance procedures for customers who cannot afford the services outright.

"Weston MedSpa provides a personalized approach to aesthetic medicine under the care of a physician to enhance your beauty," the facility's mission statement reads.

A receptionist named Andrea, who picked up the phone at the spa, told ABCNews.com that the facility was open for business but that she could not discuss Kah's case.

The owner, Gustavo Galvez, nor the doctor associated with the clinic, Dr. Omar Brito, were not available, according to the receptionist. An e-mail sent to Brito was not immediately returned.

An ambulance took Kah from the Weston MedSpa to the Cleveland Clinic in Weston Friday afternoon after she became unresponsive, Russo said. She has since been declared legally brain dead.

Case Under Police Investigation

"Right now, she's on life support and the decision now is the family's as to whether to continue it or not," Russo said.

Russo said Kah was under the care of Brito, who the Florida Department of Health confirmed is an employee of MedSpa.

Eulina Smith, a public information officer for the state's health department, said she can neither confirm nor deny that a complaint has been filed against MedSpa. It is licensed as an electrology facility, she said, which covers the services listed on the Web site. Electrolysis is commonly used as a method of hair removal.

Injections given to patients would have to be administered under the supervision of a licensed doctor, such as Brito, Smith said.

Brito, according to Florida Board of Medicine records, reached an agreement with the Florida Department of Health in 2006 after admitting to helping non-licensed individuals operate an insurance fraud scheme at some other location.

Board documents show that Brito reviewed medical files and signed examinations for "medical visits and treatments that did not occur." As part of the agreement, Brito was forced to pay $5,000 in fines, take risk management courses and perform 50 hours of community service.

His medical license was not revoked, according to the records.

Veda Coleman Wright, a spokeswoman for the Broward County Sheriff's Office, confirmed that the department, which responded to the call for help Friday afternoon at the spa, is in the beginning stages of an investigation regarding Kah's case.

"We're investigating her injury and how it occurred and if anyone is criminally at fault," Wright said.

ABCNews.com was unable to reach Kah's family members, but her husband, Joseph Orukotan, told ABC News' Miami affiliate WPLG that her children are worried.

"The daughter, she can feel something is wrong with Mommy because she kept asking us last night, 'When's Mommy going to be at home? Where's Mommy? Why is Mommy not here?'" Orukotan said.