A Long Awaited Reckoning and the Strange Case of Dr. Susan Kolb

The State of Georgia and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons finally act on Dr. Susan Kolb

“Justice delayed is justice denied”

                                    British Prime Minister William Gladstone

It only took seven years. Seven years since I first reported Dr. Susan Kolb to the Ethics Committee of the America Board of Plastic Surgery. Why did I report Dr. Kolb, a plastic surgeon I did not know personally and had never worked with?

I reported her for egregious claims and practices that crossed the line from substandard care to outright quackery. Among her claims were they she had single-handedly solved the mystery of autoimmune disorders and could cure these using protocols that she would not reveal. She claimed to have proven the existence of breast implant illness, wrote a book on the subject, and offered operations to cure this that had no proven benefit and significant potential complications. Some of her claims and actions called into question her emotional and mental status. She claimed to diagnose illnesses using psychic methods. She said she was the target of assassination attempts by agents unknown because of her special knowledge and was expelled from one hospital for carrying a concealed gun.

It is not known exactly how many women she bamboozled into believing diagnoses they did not have and undergoing operations they did not need. Kolb was sued multiple times and in 2019 alone settled five lawsuits totalling $1.25 million.

I came across Dr. Kolb in my research into the  controversial issue of breast implant illness and posted her strange story on my practice website (since closed due to my retirement). I also posted her story on the physician website, Sermo, which generated a long comment thread in which Dr. Kolb posted prominently. At 9 pages, the entire comment thread is too long to include here, but a representative comment by Kolb is below:

“I have not published as it is not safe to do so. I had two years of frequency weapon attacks after writing the book, The Naked Truth About Breast Implants. I was treated frequently by an doctor who was an expert in this area and survived attacks that probably would have killed most people according the FBI agents who spoke to me after they caught the group from Europe that were targeting me.

Many in this thread are ignorant of the science and thus are of little help to their patients who are suffering from an illness that is treatable. The longer that the women are ill, the less chance of full recovery according to peer reviewed literature in plastic surgery.”

I sent a letter to the Ethics Committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) seeking some form of action against Dr. Kolb for her claims both about breast implant illness and against her fellow plastic surgeons, who she referred to as brain washed and driven by greed and disregard for their patient’s health. I submitted what I felt to be ample evidence, much of it directly from Dr. Kolb herself (see above) to justify action to protect both our patients and our specialty. The Committee disagreed and their reply is below:

Executive Office

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF THE PLASTIC SURGERY 444 East Algonquin Road • Arlington Heights, IL 60005-4664 PLASTIC SURGEONS FOUNDATION ^TM 847-228-9900 • Fax: 847-228-9131 • www.plasticsurgery.org

November 28, 2017

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

Richard Bosshardt, MD

1879 Nightingale Lane

Tavares, FL 32778-4363

RE: Complaint about Susan Kolb, MD

Dear Dr. Bosshardt:

The Ethics Committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (the "Society") has received your complaint alleging that Dr. Kolb may have violated the Society's Code of Ethics with statements on her website http://www.breastimplantillness.com/, in her book, The Naked Truth about Breast Implants, and in response to your post on www.sermo.com.

After reviewing her website, the condensed version of the book available at http://www.plastikos.com/doc/articles/si licone/ I .pdf, and her comment on your Sermo post, the Ethics Committee is unable to find any concrete violation of the Society's Code of Ethics. While many Society members may object to Dr. Kolb's opinion that breast implants cause chemical toxicity and diseases of the immune system in women, expressing these views does not violate the Society's Code of Ethics.

Furthermore, Dr. Kolb's 2007 suspension from the medical staff at Northside Hospital is not a violation of the Society's Code of Ethics.

Regarding your concern that Dr. Kolb may be performing experimental surgery, the Ethics Committee would need evidence that lymph node removal is in fact experimental surgery and, if so, that it was done without the patient's informed consent before it could proceed further.

The Ethics Committee thanks you for your interest in and participation in the Society's ethics process.

Very truly yours,

THE ETHICS COMMITTEE OF THE

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLASTIC SURGEONS

I replied to this letter with disbelief that the weight of evidence was not sufficient for the Committee to investigate further. The ability of medical organizations to police themselves and their members has been called into question. Such a response does nothing to reassure the public that we can do this effectively. I cannot help but wonder if anyone besides me reported her over the years.

Yesterday, I was reading through the May 2024 newsletter from the ASPS and stopped when I came to the section titled, Revoked ABPS Certification. There among the names of the six plastic surgeons who had their board certification revoked in 2023 was Susan Kolb, MD of Atlanta, GA. Looking a little further, I also found that her medical license in Georgia was also revoked in October 2023 by the Georgia Composite Medical Board.

Kolb’s reckoning was long overdue. I take no pleasure in this although I cannot help but feel somewhat vindicated.  I just wish it had not taken seven years. How many women suffered under her care in that span of time?

What about the issue of breast implant illness itself? I will discuss that in another post.

Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS

Diplomate, American Board of Plastic Surgery

My book is now available on Amazon in eBook or paperback. It is an honest, frank, and, I feel, an interesting and entertaining peek into the most fascinating and misunderstood specialty in medicine.