Anyone who's seen an episode of My 600 Pound Life is familiar with Dr. Nowzaradan, who
is affectionately known to his patients as "Dr. Now."
According to his professional bio, Nowzaradan, a general and vascular surgeon, specializes
in performing bariatric surgery on, quote "the most challenging weight reduction surgical
candidates who have been previously denied by other surgical professionals, especially
the super-morbidly obese — over 600 pounds."
Fans love Dr. Now's no-nonsense advice on TV, but there's much more dirt on him than
the show reveals.
Here's what you may not know about the doctor from My 600 Pound Life.
"I have to eat something…"
"No, you don't have to eat something.
"You have eaten 800 pounds of food in you."
Malpractice suits
In 2012, patient Michelle Park sued Dr. Now, claiming that during her gastric sleeve procedure,
he left a, quote, "6.69 inch piece of tubing" inside her body.
According to Radar Online, Park's lawsuit also states that the tubing wasn't discovered
until nearly two years later.
Park ended up dismissing the suit, which Radar speculated could have been the result of a
top secret settlement.
However, Dr. Now told the tabloid,
"The lawsuit against me was dismissed because I was not the one who left the tube."
In June 2017, a patient sued for $1 million dollars, alleging that a botched tummy-tuck
left her with a deformed abdomen, extreme pain, and restricted movement.
Dr. Now denied the allegations, and in February 2018, his accuser filed a request to dismiss
the case.
In a September 2017 suit, another patient claimed Dr. Now left a stainless steel connecter
and some tubing inside of them.
Yikes!
Fatal errors?
In 2007, a woman named Colleen Shepherd alleged that the doctor failed to properly inform
her daughter Tina of the risks involved with gastric bypass.
Tina weighed more than 500 pounds at the time of the surgery, and she passed away one year
later from complications of liver failure and blood poisoning, according to The Houston
Chronicle.
Colleen also stated in her lawsuit that Tina did not receive proper aftercare, which Dr.
Now claimed was Tina's fault.
He told the Chronicle,
"We called and called her to make follow-up appointments and she said she would come in,
but she never showed up."
Five years later, according to Radar Online, a deceased patient's wife filed a similar
lawsuit, claiming Dr. Now failed to properly assess and diagnose the extent of her late
husband's condition, which led to his passing after the procedure.
Again, Dr. Now denied the claims, and a year later, the case was closed after the plaintiff
filed a motion to dismiss her own suit.
Ugly divorce battle
According to published legal documents, Dr. Now's wife of 27 years filed for divorce in
2002, citing "insupportability" and "cruel treatment."
He filed a counter petition, also claiming insupportability, but in the end, the court
attributed fault in the marriage to Dr. Now.
The court also concluded that throughout the proceedings he had, quote,
"...complicated the discovery process by concealing and withholding records, obstructing discovery,
asserting baseless privileges, failing to disclose essential information, denying access
to records, and failing to comply with court orders."
The court reportedly awarded his wife 70 percent of the couple's joint assets, which was basically
everything but Dr. Now's business.
Ouch.
Terrible long-term results
In his keynote conversation at the 2016 Obesity Help National Conference, Dr. Now may have
surprised some people when he said he believes his patients reach that level of super morbid
obesity because of a, quote, "genetic disposition."
However, the doctor explained that the other key element is the need for patients to fundamentally
change their eating habits to address the specific way their bodies metabolize food
in order to keep the weight off in the long term.
"Pizza is not part of your diet when you're 700 pounds."
Dr. Now explained that after around five years, a patient's metabolism reverts to pre-surgery
levels, which is why it is crucial for a patient to address their eating habits.
Unfortunately, it's the combination of these two factors that makes for such an uphill
climb, and that's reportedly the reason Dr. Now's patients have a mere five percent success
rate over the long-term.
To hear him tell it, there's only so much Dr. Now can do for a patient who isn't willing
to do their part.
And he also says he's doing it not for fame or fortune, but simply to help those in need.
He claims to see between 60 and 80 patients per week, and says he sometimes doesn't earn
a profit from treating a patient.
At the Obesity Help Conference, he shared just how little he made over the course of
one 800-pound patient's entire treatment:
"Insurance paid, and everything was deductible, and this and this, and they sent me a check
for 97 cents."
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