Cosmetic surgeon in valley suspended by medical board

The license of convicted Las Vegas Valley cosmetic surgeon Stephen Seldon has been suspended pending a full-blown hearing scheduled for May 4.

The Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners took the action Monday during an emergency hearing.

After a three-week trial, Seldon was convicted Nov. 19 on charges related to using a non-government approved knockoff of the drug Botox without his patients' knowledge.

Federal prosecutors convinced jurors that, despite signed agreements saying Seldon would use Botox, the surgeon used the less-expensive TRItox, which has yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The substance is distributed by the Arizona-based Toxin Research International Inc.

"Examiners found that the continued practice of medicine by Dr. Seldon in Nevada during the pendency of time necessary for a hearing on this complaint would endanger the health, safety and welfare of his patients," the Board of Medical Examiners said in a news release.

Seldon's attorneys recently filed a motion to allow more time to appeal the conviction.

Seldon argued that Botox treatment amounts to less than 5 percent of his business.

During the trial, Chad Lidvahl, owner of TRI, told jurors that Seldon and his wife, Deborah, an office assistant, bought 19,000 units of TRItox during a one-year period ending in October 2004.

Lidvahl said they paid $36,925 for the drug, about half the cost of Botox.

The label on the TRItox vial said, "For research purposes only, not for human use."

Botox is produced by the California-based company Allergan, which is the only company licensed to manufacture the substance.

A representative of the company reported the Seldons after noticing the couple continued to advertise for Botox treatment even though Allergan stopped supplying them with the substance after they failed to pay their bills.

Also Tuesday, the medical board announced it suspended the controlled substances privileges of Dr. Randall Foster.

The medical board's staff had cited three counts against Foster: malpractice in prescribing controlled substances to four patients; failure to maintain accurate and complete medical records; and prescribing controlled substances "in violation of applicable law, and especially by failing to follow the Model Guidelines for the Use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain."

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.