Tresa Baldas

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — When a west Michigan woman showed up for liposuction surgery last month, red flags apparently didn't go up about the unconventional setting — an unfinished pole barn.

Rather, the woman underwent the fat removal surgery for 10 hours inside the barn while her mother and sister sat alongside her and watched, state records show. The family saw the surgeon remove fat from under the patient's skin, pour it down a sink drain and store some of it in plastic bags.

It wasn't until the patient appeared to go in and out of consciousness, records show, that an ambulance was called. An investigation followed.

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On Tuesday, Michigan suspended the osteopathic license of Dr. Bradley Bastow of Glenn following an investigation that concluded he engaged in several unsanitary practices and put the public's health and safety at risk.

The state launched the investigation following the April 20 procedure inside his barn — known as the Body Laser Sculpting Medical Spa — and alleged Bastow committed numerous violations, including:

• Performing liposuction procedures in unsanitary conditions in an unfinished pole barn.

• Improperly disposing and storing medical waste.

• Improperly dispensing and recording the dispensing of controlled substances.

• Improperly comingling human and animal drugs.

• Taking a controlled substance from the facility for personal use.

“Our investigation found that Dr. Bastow’s conduct was negligent, incompetent and lacked good moral character,” said LARA Director Shelly Edgerton. “Our top priority is the health and safety of Michiganders, and the dangerous and deplorable conditions of Dr. Bastow’s facility warranted an immediate suspension of his medical license.”

Bastow could not be reached for comment at his medical facility.

According to the complaint filed by the Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Attorney General Bill Schuette, Bastow operated his medical practice inside an unfinished pole barn in Glenn for about two years, from 2015 through April 2017. Before that, he practiced in nearby South Haven.

Nick Stegman previously told a west Michigan TV station that he worked at a pharmacy in the same building as Bastow in South Haven.

"He purchased a couple limos, and part of his whole thing is he would pick the people up in the limo, do surgery and then he would drive them back to wherever it was he picked them up,” Stegman recalled. “A lot of things I (saw) working at the pharmacy in the same building did not seem very sanitary.”

On June 15, 2016, a court entered a judgment against Bastow ordering him to bring his pole barn into compliance with a site plan that had been approved by the township within 30 days. The court also ordered that no activity other than construction could occur on the property until the township issued a certificate of occupancy.

But Bastow ignored the court order and continued to run his medical practice out of the barn, even though it wasn't finished and had no occupancy certificate, the complaint said.

According to pictures obtained by the Allegan County Sheriff's Department and a followup inspection of the barn, several other problems were cited, including:

• Improper storage of medical waste.

• Bastow allowed staff to dispense prescriptions when he wasn't present at the facility.

• Bastow failed to separate expired drugs from non-expired drugs.

• Bastow admitted to taking the painkiller Tramadol for personal use.

During the investigation, the Allegan County Health Department advised patients of Bastow who may have developed a fever, redness or swelling after surgery in his Glenn pole barn to get immediate medical care.

Contributing: WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich. Follow Tresa Baldas on Twitter: @tbaldas