What a Miami physical therapist assistant did with needles cost her $12,000 — and more
A North Bay Village physical therapist assistant didn’t lose her license for offering manual post-op lymphatic drainage for cosmetic surgery patients. It was using a needle and syringe for another treatment.
Thursday’s final order from the state’s Board of Physical Therapy revoked the license of Drain With Stef owner Stephanie Barber, stating, “the danger [Barber’s] actions pose to the public, the willfulness and negligence of the licensee’s actions and the deterrent effects of a higher penalty warrant a penalty that is above the range provided for in the disciplinary guidelines...”
Barber also was fined $6,000 and assessed another $6,348 of case costs.
Barber received her license since Aug. 5, 2019 and registered Drain With Stef as a Florida corporation on April 20, 2021. According to the company’s Facebook page, Drain With Stef offers “Mobile lymphatic drainage service for pre and post surgical drainage for (liposuction)“ and contouring.
“Lymphatic drainage massage, also known as manual lymphatic drainage, relieves swelling that happens when medical treatment or illness blocks your lymphatic system,” the Cleveland Clinic says. “Lymphatic drainage massage involves gently manipulating specific areas of your body to help lymph move to an area with working lymph vessels.”
The Florida Department of Health administrative complaint says Drain With Stef also offered seroma removal.
“A seroma, one of the most common potential complications after surgery, is the accumulation of fluid under the skin,” the administrative complaint explains in a footnote. “Seromas can form soon after surgery and are usually found near the site of a surgical incision. Seromas usually develop in places where tissue has been removed.”
But, the complaint said, from Feb. 1, 2021 and June 16, 2021, Barber “performed invasive procedures on one or more patients by aspirating and/or draining patient seromas using a needle and a syringe.”
The complaint said that meant Barber worked “beyond the scope permitted by law” or taken action Barbers “knows or has reason to know that she is not competent to perform.”
The final order says though the complaint was delivered through certified mail and four editions of Miami Today newspaper, Barber didn’t file a response within 21 days. That triggered a waiver of her rights to a hearing in which she could argue against the accusations in the complaint. Barber wasn’t present for the Board of Physical Therapy’s May 10 public meeting.
