PHOENIX – When Marsha Rutt decided to get surgery, she says it was not about her physical appearance.
“It was not about looks. It was about my health. I had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. I was very, very ill,” Marsha tells 3 On Your Side.
Marsha says obesity runs in her family and she knew if she didn't make a drastic change it would be the difference between life and death.
“My brother had a massive stroke at age 44 from complications of obesity. I was 59, I needed to lose weight. So I had a gastric bypass operation,” she says.
Marsha lost 140 pounds in one year. However, because of the rapid weight loss Marsha said it created another problem.
“As a result of the gastric bypass and losing that much weight in that big of a hurry, I have a lot of extra skin,” she explains.
Marsha went to a board-certified plastic surgeon by the name Dr. Steven Gitt at North Valley Plastic Surgery.
Following her visit with Dr. Gitt, Marsha decided to schedule a "body lift" with him, a $24,000 surgery that was required to be paid in advance which she did.
However, just days before the procedure, Marsha's health took a turn for the worse.
“I was passed out and woke up on the floor soaked in ice water, cold to the bone. I reached up on the table, got a phone and called the paramedics,” she explains.
Marsha says she was rushed to the hospital and admitted.
“I had low blood pressure and I was septic. I had a blood infection. I was deathly ill, I was as close to dying as I ever want to be,” she says.
As a result Marsha says her physicians told her not to undergo her body lift.
“My doctor faxed a letter over to Dr. Gitt's office that day, Sunday evening, that I had been admitted to the hospital and I needed to cancel surgery,” she tells 3 On Your Side.
Marsha says that with her declining health, her doctors said it was too risky to ever undergo any type of elective surgery and her physicians even wrote to Dr. Gitt advising him of her health problems.
However, Marsha says Dr. Gitt's office is offering to only return half of her money.
“Because I didn't cancel the surgery two weeks in advance that I owed him a cancellation fee of 50 percent or $12,224,” Marsha says.
In the contract Marsha signed with Dr. Gitt's office, it states, "All fees are nonrefundable if surgery is canceled 14 days or less prior to the scheduled surgery date" but Marsha thinks in this case an exception should be made.
“No one knows what's going to happen to their health two weeks in advance. I mean if I had known two weeks in advance that I was going to have a stroke, I wouldn't have had it,” she tells 3 On Your Side.
We spoke to Scottsdale plastic surgeon John Corey about Marsha's situation. He doesn't practice with Dr. Gitt, but we wanted to get his thoughts on contract cancellations in the medical industry.
“It's common for a lot of offices to say, ‘Well you know what, there's a cancellation policy. If you cancel within a certain amount of time, we're going to hold back some for that money’,” Dr. Corey explains.
Dr. Corey says while it's up to individual physicians to make exceptions, he says Marsha's situation is certainly a valid one.
“I probably wouldn't feel good about that. I like to make my living by operating, I don't like to make a living by not operating,” he says.
3 On Your Side tried numerous times to talk to Dr. Gitt. However, his attorney said he wouldn't talk to 3 On Your Side on camera.
They also failed to provide us a written statement. For Marsha she hopes Dr. Gitt will reconsider under the circumstances and refund all of her $24,000, not just half of it.
“This is an unreasonable policy in light of my medical condition. I didn't capriciously cancel the surgery. I cancelled it because I was ill and am continuing to be ill,” Marsha says.
Dr. Gitt was reprimanded three years ago by the Arizona Medical Board for improper billing and other infractions.
Marsha has filed a complaint with the board and she’s also taking the issue to court.
