Bakersfield doctor surrenders license after failing to comply with probation

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Bakersfield doctor surrendered her physician’s license after the state Medical Board accused her of failing to comply with probation terms imposed after a patient who received liposuction and a tummy tuck died.

Dr. Sarwa Aldoori agreed to surrender her license in March, according to Medical Board documents, months after the board said she failed to complete a clinical competence assessment program as part of her probation. Aldoori’s license was suspended after a cease practice order was issued last year when she failed to complete the program, according to the board.

The board brought an accusation against Aldoori in 2021 alleging she had insufficient training to perform liposuction and a tummy tuck on a patient who died in April 2016.

The coroner’s office ruled the patient, a 43-year-old woman whose name was not included in the accusation, died from a fat embolism — when fat globules enter the bloodstream — due to abdominal surgical procedure and liposuction, with adult respiratory distress contributing, according to the accusation.

The accusation said only four sets of vital signs were taken during three hours and 45 minutes of monitoring post-surgery, and fluid input and output was not closely assessed.

The patient died the day after surgery.

The board placed Aldoori on probation for seven years and imposed terms that included completion of education, record-keeping and ethics courses.

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