US-based Ghanaian surgeon Dr Michael Obeng has debunked media reports that he was arrested in Ghana along with quack doctors in a joint Medical and Dental Council and police operation.
The report further indicated that the Harvard-trained reconstructive surgeon was picked up for allegedly charging huge amounts of money for conducting surgeries in Ghana.
Contrary to these reports, Dr Obeng said “I have never performed surgery in Ghana for money. And this time around I did not perform surgery for money, this is not the reason why I come to Ghana.”
In a press release to debunk the reports, Dr Obeng narrated the events that led to an incident with the Medical and Dental Council.
He recounted “I was notified that a particular gentleman had contacted my office in Beverly Hills and indicated that he did not have a credit card but required a meeting with me. My office went ahead and scheduled the appointment accordingly.”
“On July 22, 2021, the said gentleman presented himself to be evaluated for liposuction. I recommended to him that he will need to come to Beverly Hills for surgery if he so chooses. I also discovered that he had an umbilical hernia. My office had informed the gentleman to bring his consultation fee of $500 and advised him to give it to my security personnel. An hour later he returned with some other people claiming to be from Ghana Medical and Dental Council.”
Read the full statement below:
In the past 24 hours, I have been overwhelmed by calls from friends, family, patients, and well-wishers expressing concern about reports in the Ghana media regarding my alleged arrest.
First of all, I would like to assure everyone that I’m back home safely in Beverly Hills by the grace of the Almighty God. I flew into Ghana on July 21, 2021, en route to Gabon and Cameroon to evaluate and discuss the best way to improve health care delivery in the region. This included but was not limited to, providing free reconstructive surgeries for their nationals through my non-profit organization, RESTORE Worldwide, Inc.
I have never performed surgery in Ghana for money. And this time around I did not perform surgery for money, this is not the reason why I come to Ghana. I have been traveling to Ghana with my team of doctors and volunteers for the past 14 years to perform free reconstructive surgeries. To date, we have performed over 1,000 surgeries valued in excess of 50 million US Dollars, including a substantial amount of my own money. The Ghana Medical and Dental Council knows me well and are aware of my RESTORE Foundation and its activities.
My Beverly Hills office is frequently inundated with requests from Ghanaians wanting to know if and when I would be performing surgeries in Ghana. We have always responded categorically that I do not perform cosmetic surgeries in Ghana, so some of them will request an online consultation since they are not able to travel to the US because of COVID-19 and other reasons.
My staff being aware of my trip to Ghana put out a notice on our social media platform that I had agreed to see a few of such potential patients during my stay in Ghana. Payment for consultation was to be made directly through my Beverly Hills office by credit card before the meetings were scheduled.
I was notified that a particular gentleman had contacted my office in Beverly Hills and indicated that he did not have a credit card but required a meeting with me. My office went ahead and scheduled the appointment accordingly.
On July 22, 2021, the said gentleman presented himself to be evaluated for liposuction. I recommended to him that he will need to come to Beverly Hills for surgery if he so chooses. I also discovered that he had an umbilical hernia. My office had informed the gentleman to bring his consultation fee of $500 and advised him to give it to my security
personnel. An hour later he returned with some other people claiming to be from the Ghana Medical and Dental Council and the Ghana Police CID Department. Subsequent inquiries have revealed that the Medical and Dental Council were not aware of this individual and his activities, neither had they given any such instructions.
Improving health care around the sub-region is my passion and lifelong mission. Whilst in Ghana earlier last month, amongst other things I was invited to join the team of surgeons to separate the conjoined twins, which I gladly accepted. I had the opportunity to examine the twins at Ridge Hospital in Accra with no issues. I was also asked to help a woman from the Volta Region with a massive tumour on her face and I willingly obliged to do the surgery for free.
I have instructed my lawyers both in Ghana and in Los Angeles to look into this matter and take any and all appropriate actions against what is clearly an attempt to tarnish my hard-won reputation. I will also ask all the media houses that published this unfortunate story that lumped me together with alleged quack doctors to retract and apologize immediately.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
