‘Octomom’ doctor accused of negligence, implanting 7 embryos in 48-year-old fertility patient

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‘Octomom’ doc accused of implanting 7 embryos

LOS ANGELES — The fertility doctor for “Octomom” Nadya Suleman implanted too many embryos in another patient, resulting in the death of a fetus, according to the state licensing board.

The Medical Board of California said in a revised filing that Dr. Michael Kamrava acted with negligence when he implanted seven embryos in a 48-year-old woman, identified only as “L.C.”

Four of the embryos became viable, but the woman lost one during pregnancy and gave birth to triplets, one of whom has profound developmental delays, the board said.

The medical board found Kamrava implanted more than the medically recommended two embryos in a patient over 35 and “placed L.C. at great risk for high order gestation, which was confirmed by a quadruplet pregnancy that ended with catastrophic results.”

Kamrava’s public relations representative David Langness did not immediately provide comment.

The medical board has the authority to revoke the license of the Beverly Hills doctor who has been under investigation since Suleman gave birth to octuplets 18 months ago.

The latest accusation of negligence was added on June 30 to an existing complaint regarding Suleman’s pregnancy.

In the filing, Kamrava was also accused of failing to refer another patient identified as H.L. for cancer screening, despite the patient’s history of cancer and finding cysts on her ovaries in an ultrasound.

After draining fluid from the patient’s cysts and having it tested for cancerous cells, Kamrava ruled out cancer on his own “rather than refer H.L. to a specialist for further evaluation,” according to the filing.

Kamrava continued with fertility treatments, performing an embryo transfer for the woman in January 2009, but the pregnancy did not take, the report states.

Afterward, the patient went to two more fertility specialists who both recommended she undergo surgery to rule out cancer.

Following the April 2009 surgery, H.L. was diagnosed with metastatic, stage III bilateral ovarian cancer and had to have her uterus, cervix, ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, the report states.

Kamrava is scheduled for a licensing hearing before the board to address the accusation on Oct. 18.