Metro

Manhattan heart-transplant patient dies after ‘restricted’ doc’s botched liposuction

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UNKINDEST CUT: Isel Pineda, who was not supposed to have anesthesia because of her heart transplant, died after surgery by Dr. Oleg Davie (inset). (
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He promised to zap her fat. But it was a death trap.

Dr. Oleg Davie had such a history of misconduct that the state Health Department last July slashed his practice to a short list of minor cosmetic procedures, such as wart removal and Botox injections.

Liposuction is not on the list, but Davie continued to perform the lucrative “SmartLipo,” in which he wields a laser to melt and suck out fat.

Isel Pineda, 51, a Manhattanite and heart-transplant patient of famed Dr. Mehmet Oz, collapsed and died on May 10 after undergoing the procedure in Davie’s Brooklyn office.

Cardiac patients are considered off limits for cosmetic surgery because the anesthesia can make the heart overload, beat rapidly or shut down.

“This woman should not have been operated on — period,” said a top plastic surgeon who consults for the state. “You don’t screw around with people like this. If he knew she had a heart transplant, he should have shown her the door.”

Pineda’s grief-stricken family believes Davie knew.

In her purse the day she died, Pineda’s boyfriend found copies of paperwork from an April 18 consultation with Davie, including a medical-history form she filled out.

In it, she disclosed that she was diagnosed with heart disease in 2004, received a heart transplant and was on anti-rejection drugs.

But the patient-history form that Davie turned over to the family’s lawyer makes no mention of any heart issues. It lists only her hypertension drugs. On a question asking whether she was ever hospitalized, it’s marked “No.”

Davie’s records note that Pineda had a scar — “mid-chest, old, well healed” — which he described as “skin surgery” to remove a “cyst.”

Heart-transplant scars stretch from the neck to nearly the navel.

“Anyone who met Isel knew she was a heart-transplant patient. She wore that label proudly, even posting it on her Facebook page,” said the family’s lawyer, Michael Fruhling, of Gersowitz, Libo & Korek.

“That Dr. Davie failed to mention this is beyond comprehension.”

The Bronx-born Pineda, who co-founded a company that makes tote bags, didn’t tell her family about the tummy job.

“She was probably embarrassed about it,” said her brother, Marni, who estimates she weighed about 125 pounds.

“She was stunning on the outside but more beautiful on the inside. She lit up a room like a ray of sunshine She loved everyone, and everyone loved her,” he said. “She did not have to die — not like this.”

Pineda’s files had an online ad by Dr. Davie to “lose the wobble” for a discounted $2,200. She wound up paying $3,200 up front.

The petite patient went into cardiac arrest before leaving Davie’s office. Paramedics could not revive her. She was declared dead at Coney Island Hospital,

The state’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct cited Davie in seven cases for negligence, mischaracterizing cosmetic treatments as medical, improper treatment and filing false reports. He was fined $100,000 and put on probation for three years,

Davie, 50, is an internist but not a board-certified plastic surgeon. He also is named in several malpractice suits by women who complained of burns and disfigurement.

His office was still making appointments for lipo consultations last week.

“It’s like he got away with murder. He never even sent a condolence card,” Pineda’s brother fumed.

Davie, who has boasted to a newspaper about his $7 million Manhattan town house, refused to comment when asked about Pineda and ejected The Post from his Park Avenue office.

State Health Department spokesman Pete Constantakes confirmed that Davie was not permitted to perform liposuction. He said the case would be investigated “to determine what action, if any, is appropriate.”

Additional reporting by Kathianne Boniello