As soon as the waiter took their order, Dave slid his chair closer, so he wouldn’t be overheard.
“All right, let me tell you what’s on my mind. In the not to distant future, the Denver Post is releasing an explosive story that’s going to blow the lid right off Mr. Bakencamp’s hide out - and its all got to do with this damned deregulation this crooked Oligarchy’s been promoting. Then in a few months, a national news network is going to feature a story called, The Epidemic that Never Was. It’s all about a neurosurgeon and his young resident who’ve been performing a very radical surgical procedure on hundreds of infants, without the parents ever really understanding the risks involved.”
“What kind of risks?” Bill asked, looking confused.
“Apparently they’ve removed and reshaped hundreds of infants’ entire skull caps, to correct a questionable cosmetic problem called Craniosynostosis, or CS. And at last count, they’ve done more than a thousand of these major surgeries without following any surgical standards. Doctor Hanes, the neurosurgeon who started all this, apparently developed this fifty thousand dollar procedure all on his own - and he’s been getting very wealthy from it - that is until the Center for Disease Control blew the whistle on him and began to investigate the situation. Rumor had it that this very extensive procedure was even being done on infants who had no documented symptoms - and apparently he’s left a trail of babies that have grown up with terrible physical complications, and a batch of lawsuits that are now skyrocketing. In fact, if the hospital loses too many of these lawsuits, they just may have to close.”
“Sounds like they should,” Bill snarled, rubbing one hand over his unshaved chin. “Just what the hell does Bakencamp have to say for himself? Was he hiding in a closet when this was all going on?”
“That’s exactly where he’s been. And now he wants me to save his ass!”
Dave took another quick swallow of beer as the waiter set their sandwiches in front of them.
“Can I get you anything else?” he asked.
Again Dave waved him off, briefly staring at his sandwich before he unconsciously picked it up to take a bite.
“Why are these characters removing the infant’s entire skull cap?” Bill asked.
Dave paused, slowly putting down his sandwich. “Well as you well know, CS involves the premature fusing of the skull plates, which can eventually cause some really bad deformities. And Doctor Hanes was terrifying these parents by telling them their child would have increased pressure on the brain and would probably become mentally retarded, or even insane - when there was no real evidence that could ever substantiate that.” Pausing just long enough to finally take a bite of his sandwich, Dave continued. “But what responsible parent would ignore the physician,” he mumbled through a full mouth. “They do just what all worried parents would do - they listen to this profound God-like creature. And Bill, as you know too well, some of these guys think they can walk on water. And since the parents are afraid of irritating this guy who might be performing major surgery on their child they just accepted everything he says. They don’t even get a second opinion from another qualified neurosurgeon - doesn’t that sound familiar?”
“Yah - it sure does,” Bill frowned, swallowing a bite of his Rueben.
“After the Center for Disease Control and the Health Department became involved, they did a study of some two hundred of his CS surgeries, and determined that Hanes and his resident were falsely diagnosing CS symptoms in over sixty percent of their cases and totally ignoring surgical standards.
“You can’t be serious!” Bill shouted.
“Oh yes I am. And on top of that, it appears that Hanes has a huge referral network of former residents who refer him all kinds of candidates.”
With that Bill stopped chewing. “So you’re saying there is no justification? Is there some sort of kickback?” he asked. “It always comes down to the almighty buck, doesn’t it? So was money the reason?”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” Dave moaned. “And now Bakencamp has hired me to protect his treasure.”
“I don’t get it - what possible help do you want from me?”
“Hell, what I’ve described is just the tip of the iceberg. Some of these infants are now showing the results of his butchery. They have scars and lumps in their skulls, which they’re teased about in school, and they get headaches and a whole bunch of other physical problems. Worse yet, just three years ago a six-month-old infant with a known cardiac problem had a cardiac arrest on the surgical table. She’s now retarded and almost totally blind. Another infant died from the procedure, and a dozen or more parents are lining up in the wings to initiate lawsuits against the hospital and this self aggrandizing surgeon and his resident, Larry McGrath. And what’s even worse is this Young Turk, McGrath, recently signed an agreement to buy out Hanes, and now he intends to continue this money making fiasco. Bill - it’s just one big nightmare!”
“Well, at least the public is starting to show signs of standing up to these hoodlums,” Bill smirked, with a small tinge of satisfaction. “Yet, you say McGrath is still doing this surgery?”
“Yes! - And that’s the frightening thing about this whole damned deregulation mess we have on our hands today. But that’s not all,” Dave paused again, raising one hand. “One of the residents in training, a Doctor Rahn, stood up and fearlessly challenged both McGrath and Hanes, knowing full well he could have been thrown out of his residency. But by the grace of God, the national neurosurgeon’s organization got wind of it and saved him by threatening to investigate the lack of diagnostic criteria that the CDC had already identified. In fact, neurosurgeons from all over the country are now disagreeing with this procedure because there’s just too much blood loss. Bill, they often transfuse the infant’s total blood volume two or three times in this procedure - and as you know, the tissue that separates the skullcap from the brain can hemorrhage extensively when you remove the entire skull cap. In fact, the neurosurgery society has decided this type of procedure is far too extensive and dangerous for what’s been previously known as a simple cosmetic procedure. And from what I’ve been told, Hanes is lucky those babies haven’t been dying left and right. I heard that at the last national meeting of neurosurgeons, the whole professional society was up in arms on this issue, and they really took McGrath and Hanes to task.”
“Stop right there!” Bill said raising both hands. “You mean the neurosurgeons, as a group, are willing to openly oppose what these guys were doing?”
Dave nodded.
“Boy, that’s a positive change from their usual code of silence,” Bill chuckled, quickly washing down another full cheek of Rueben. Then suddenly he shouted, “Damn it!” Causing several other patrons to look his way - “Just what the hell is this administrator doing? He’s supposed to be acting in behalf of the patient, and all that crap is going on right under his nose?”
Dave quickly put his forefinger up to his lips, hoping to quiet Bill down as he reached over and patted his arm. Then cautiously looking around the room to see that nobody was still listening, he explained what he wanted Bill to do.
“Bill, I can’t put my name on any consultant report without knowing the facts, so here’s the bottom line. This administrator is so preoccupied with saving his ass that I need someone to investigate the situation and find out just what’s been going on here. I need you to go and talk to people and get the facts.” With that Dave pushed his empty plate away, again leaning closer to Bill. “I need someone I can trust,” he whispered. “Someone who can go out and visit with the parents, the residents, the members of the medical staff, and check out the condition of these children they operated on - and you’re the best in the business. You don’t have to take sides, or fight another corrupt organization this time, just get me the facts, and find out what the hell’s going on.”
For a long moment Bill sat with his eyes staring at the ceiling before he finally looked back at Dave