(WXIN/WTTV) — Dr. Scott Mimms was looking to make a deal.
During previous appearances before the Indiana Medical Licensing Board (MLB), attorneys had accompanied Mimms.
Not this time.
Mimms was alone, and when given his first opportunity to speak he said, “I’d like to make a… have a settlement agreement.”
Before Mimms could finish, Deputy Attorney General Carah Rochester interrupted, “The State’s going to object.”
“Sustained,” responded Board President Dr. John Strobel.
The meeting returned to the matter on the agenda, a 114-count complaint compiled by the Attorney General’s office, fueled by 32 consumer complaints going back two years.
Mimms later noted he had become a target for complaints, “After everything was said on the news.”
FOX59/CBS4 was the first to report about the post-operative problems Mimms’ patients experienced after cosmetic surgeries. The procedures were performed in Mimm’s offices without state-required surgical certification.
Kaylee Bowman, who’d struggled with weight issues, lost 75 pounds and had loose skin around her abdomen. She chose Mimms to do reconstructive surgery only to wake up twice during the operation.
“It was during the liposuction, and it felt like bruising, jabbing, kind of stabbing in my side. I was terrified,” recalled Bowman.
Mimms routinely performed procedures without an anesthesiologist, instead monitoring the patient, the anesthesia and the surgery all at once.
Levi Harrison knows something about that.
“I feel he did more butchering than fixing now,” said Harrison.
Harrison’s wife briefly worked for Mimms. Through that connection, Harrison became one of Mimms’ first cosmetic patients. He went from 300 to 150 pounds and his body needed surgical reconstruction.
But to perform one of Harrison’s surgeries Mimms used a local anesthetic, prescribing Vicodin for pain.
Harrison was not only awake for the procedure but also recorded portions of his operation with his cell phone. Video from the surgery was shared with FOX59/CBS4. Conversations about how much Vicodin to administer can be heard involving Mimms, his surgical assistant and Harrison.
”I can tell you every time the Vicodin wore off, we’d stop until I could take more Vicodin and wait for the painkiller to kick in, “ explained Harrison.
Still, other patients report leaving Mimms’ office after surgery “leaking blood,” developing a “full-blown infection,” or with “permanent nerve loss.”
The Attorney General’s investigation also found Mimms provided care to 19 patients while his medical license had lapsed. Additionally, 79 patients were prescribed powerful stimulants for weight loss in violation of state law.
At the end of the hearing, Mimms offered, “I’ve made mistakes.”
Mimms shared that his clinics had been shuttered and with patients successfully disputing charges for his services business accounts had been emptied.
“I was quickly left without money,” he said. “[My] house went into foreclosure.”
Then, he explained why he attended such a consequential hearing without an attorney.
“I liquidated all of my assets to help pay for my lawyer fees, but I eventually ran out of money,” he said. “And as you can see, I don’t have a lawyer today and I still owe them $80,000.”
The Attorney General’s office sought a five-year suspension of Mimms’ medical license.
Board President Dr. John Strobel began the discussion on possible punishment with a question.
“Do we leave the door open,” he asked.
“If it’s five years, he’s probably out of medicine,” Strobel continued.
Board members, six of seven of them physicians, seemed sympathetic to some sort of return to medicine for Mimms.
“I don’t think this doctor should be practicing surgery, any kind of surgery,” offered board member Dr. Bharat Baral.
That’s where the board drew a line, voting to issue a two-year suspension of Mimms’ license and afterward, his application for reinstatement could not include surgery.
For now, Mimms still faces significant challenges. He is named in over two dozen malpractice claims. To read the AG’s complaint against Mimms, click here.
