COSMETIC SURGERY DEATH TRIAL UNDER WAY JURY BEING CHOSEN IN $3 MILLION LAWSUIT.

Byline: Joseph Giordono Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Tania Pfefferman was like so many other young women in Southern California: starting a family, pursuing her career goals - a hair stylist - but perhaps a little unsatisfied with her physical appearance.

But no one expected her decision in February 1998 to undergo cosmetic surgery would end up with her slipping into a coma and dying 12 days later.

After little more than two years, following lengthy legal delays, a lawsuit filed by her husband and young daughter against the doctor and medical practice that they hold responsible for her death is going to trial.

Jury selection began Friday in the $3 million negligence suit stemming from the death of the 25-year-old Simi Valley woman during breast- augmentation surgery and liposuction in 1998.

The suit accuses the medical staff of Plastic Surgery Partnerships and Dr. Theodore R. Corwin of negligently administering anesthesia to Tania Pfefferman, who slipped into a coma on Feb. 16 of that year and died 12 days later at Los Robles Regional Medical Center.

The suit also claims that staffers at the clinic did not immediately detect that Pfefferman went into cardiac arrest in the recovery room and that when they finally did, they negligently performed resuscitation efforts.

According to the county coroner's report, the cause of death was possibly a negative reaction to the painkiller Demerol, which resulted in a lack of oxygen reaching the brain and causing the coma.

Pfefferman was the mother of a then 16-month-old girl, Nicole, in whose name along with Pfefferman's husband, Michael Ray - who was in the waiting room at the Woodland Hills clinic where his wife had the surgery - the lawsuit was filed.

``This has been the case with no beginning. It has been extremely frustrating for the family to sit through these delays, but they are hopeful that it will be resolved relatively soon'' said Frederick Bysshe, attorney for the Pfeffermans.

Attorneys for the defendants did not return telephone calls for comment.

Corwin's only public comment on the matter has come in the form of a statement released through his attorney before the lawsuit was announced.

``Dr. Corwin and his entire staff are deeply saddened at the untimely loss of such a loving wife, daughter and mother, and again send their deepest condolences to her family and loved ones,'' the statement read.

In the statement, Corwin also said that Pfefferman ``underwent the entire surgical procedure without incident.''

An April 1998 Ventura County district attorney's review, including interviews and analysis of related documents, found no criminal conduct in Tania Pfefferman's death.

Corwin, whose vanity license plate reads ``Y B Flat,'' according to the suit, has been licensed as a physician by the Medical Board of California since 1975. He is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and according to State Medical Board records, has had no previous formal accusations filed against him.

The trial has been delayed several times over the past months. After previous court calendar delays, the case was scheduled to begin March 28 but was again pushed back due to clashes over the inclusion of certain evidence, including transcripts of 911 calls from the medical office the day of Pfefferman's death.

``There was quite a battle heating up over whether certain evidence was going to be allowed in the trial. These are important matters that must be determined before you could even think about seating a jury,'' said Terence Geoghegan, who practices law with Bysshe.

Once jury selection is complete, the trial is anticipated to last nine weeks.

When attorneys for both sides agreed on this estimate in a pretrial hearing last week, Superior Court Judge Thomas Hutchins sighed and asked if anyone else ``saw that giant black cloud that just landed in my courtroom.''

Jury selection alone could last several days, as the length of the trial will eliminate many jurors from the pool who will not be paid by their employers for more than five days.

``It will be difficult to find a group of people that can sit through a two- to three-month trial and I doubt that we will begin opening statements before the end of next week,'' Bysshe said.

Pfefferman's attorney says that a verdict in a similar case gives him confidence going into the trial. A San Bernardino County jury ruled on April 3 awarded $12.3 million to a woman left brain damaged after a violent reaction to anesthetic used during breast-augmentation surgery.

Bruce G. Fagel, the attorney for Monique Thompson, who has been in a chronic vegetative state since the April 1998 surgery, argued that she had seizures for 90 minutes while surgical staff monitoring her failed to respond appropriately.