Podiatrist, Two Assistants to Pay $420,000 Settlement

In the largest out-of-court settlement ever negotiated by the state Medical Board, a Granada Hills podiatrist and two assistants have agreed to pay $420,000 and stop performing a special type of bunion surgery state authorities described as “medical mayhem,” officials said Monday.

Dr. Garey Weber also agreed to stop performing unnecessary and dangerous “serial surgeries” on patients, many of them elderly, said James Rathlesberger, executive officer of the state Board of Podiatric Medicine. The settlement also was signed by two Weber associates, Dr. Michael Hickey and Dr. Romeo Pettinelli.

Under the terms of the settlement, Weber and his associates admitted no guilt. Weber’s lawyer said his bunion removal surgeries are safer and more effective than most, and state regulators wanted the procedure stopped only because they didn’t understand it.

The attorney, Steven Ames Brown, also said the state singled out Weber because he has more foot patients than any other podiatrist in private practice in California, treating more than 5,000 people in the past two years alone.

The $420,000 covers only the cost of the investigation and does not represent a fine.

Weber, his assistants and his company, Podiatry Group Surgical Center Inc., were named in a 1987 lawsuit filed on behalf of the Medical Board of California alleging that they engaged in numerous unfair business practices and improper billing procedures, said state Deputy Atty. Gen. Anne Mendoza.

Weber could lose his medical license if he fails to abide by the settlement, said Rathlesberger.

He said one of the most significant terms in the settlement was Weber’s agreement to stop performing the “Weber bunionectomy,” a procedure the podiatrist developed that Rathlesberger described as “medical mayhem.”

A bunion is a swelling of a fluid sac at the base of the big toe, often accompanied by a thickening of the skin. When removing particularly large or old bunions, foot surgeons must often cut the toe bone and realign it.

Rathlesberger said that under Weber’s procedure, the bone would be cut but not rejoined with a metal pin or other “fixation” device, making it much more difficult for the toe to heal.

He said some of Weber’s patients were elderly people who suffered severe pain and lost their ability to walk normally as a result of the “horrendous” procedure. Patients who have pins inserted normally are bedridden and do not walk for days or weeks.

“How would you feel if you broke your toe and then had to walk on it?” Rathlesberger said. “If you sit outside Garey Weber’s office, there are elderly people who are screaming in agony.”

But Brown said the procedure is medically more advanced because it reduces the chances of arthritis and infection from metal implants. He said that while patients who undergo traditional bunion surgery often take six weeks to heal fully, Weber’s patients were able to walk immediately after surgery.

As a result of the settlement, Brown said, Weber has not stopped performing the surgeries but only altered the location of his bone cuts “less than an inch,” making them nearer to the first toe joint. The doctor still doesn’t use fixation devices, Brown said.

But Mendoza said moving the cut closer to the joint makes a critical difference because higher blood flow and bone softness there significantly promotes healing.

Rathlesberger said that Weber also is prohibited from performing up to six separate operations on a patient when one or two would suffice. Such “serial surgeries” are often medically unsafe and allowed Weber to reap higher fees from insurance companies, Rathlesberger said.

Referring to the $420,000 settlement, Rathlesberger said, “This is the largest out-of-court settlement that the Medical Board of California has ever obtained, but it is not a lot of money to Garey Weber,” he said.

“Garey Weber, according to my sources, has made $40 million from his podiatric practice. His total net worth is estimated at $100 million,” he said.

Brown described state medical authorities as “philistines” who simply didn’t understand the Weber bunionectomy and were unable to find any patients who had been injured by the procedure.

Mendoza, however, said she interviewed 20 of Weber’s patients and that their foot problems were “exacerbated” by his treatment.