Pole Barn Surgeon’s Patients Warned About Infections

GLENN, MI — Public health officials in a West Michigan county warned patients who may have had liposuction surgery or other procedures in a pole barn illegally operated by Dr. Bradley Bastow to immediately seek treatment if they have a fever, redness, swelling or other symptoms of an infection, according to media reports. Bastow is a licensed osteopathic doctor, but the surgery isn’t a permitted use in a pole barn and he doesn’t have a business license, the Allegan County Health department said.

The health department received a tip Friday from the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office that Bastow was performing surgeries in the pole barn. Officials are concerned that he did not follow proper biohazard procedures.

Bastow’s medical license expires in 2018, but officials have filed an official complaint with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Bastow already has been cited for failing to follow proper procedures. According to records, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fined Bastow $1,000 in 2013, saying that he fell short of safety requirements by failing to ensure instruments were properly calibrated, doing regular inventories of radioactive substances and keeping accurate records, WOOD-TV reported.

Bastow moved his Body Laser Sculpting to the pole barn from South Haven, WZZM-TV reported. According to his website, Bastow performs different types of liposuction, breast augmentation, facelifts and anti-aging procedures, but also sees heart patients.

Nick Stegman, who worked in a pharmacy in Bastow’s South Haven building, told WZZM that the doctor’s practices there “did not seem very sanitary.”

Photo via Shutterstock