Inside GET-THIN

Daniel Shin was accused of 'gross negligence' by regulators for treatment of a patient at a Beverly Hills clinic affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign.An anesthesiologist faulted for his treatment of a patient who died after Lap-Band surgery at a clinic affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign has been placed on five years' probation by the Medical Board of California.

The waiting room of the Beverly Hills surgery clinic was teeming with customers on a recent Saturday, with many of the patients there for the weight-loss operation hawked on freeway billboards, bus placards, and TV and radio commercials across Southern California: 1-800-GET-THIN.

A second death linked by a coroner's report to the weight-loss surgery performed at a Beverly Hills clinic may prompt state regulators to take a closer look at the procedures marketed by TopSurgeons.The tragedy of Ana Renteria's life was in the way it ended: her body ravaged by infection 10 days after she had the Lap-Band weight-loss operation advertised on those billboards and radio spots bearing the phone number 1-800-GET-THIN .

The lawsuit contends the 1-800-GET-THIN advertising company represented that the patient would be cared for by 'top-rated' physicians.

New Life Surgery Center could lose its accreditation if it fails to make progress in four areas.A Beverly Hills outpatient surgery center affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN advertising campaign has been advised to make improvements or risk losing its accreditation, according to a spokeswoman for the center's accrediting agency.

Despite an autopsy report's findings, Dr.

Lap-Band's maker, Allergan, will no longer sell the device to facilities affiliated with the marketing campaign.The maker of the Lap-Band will no longer sell its product to clinics affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing company — a blow to Southern California surgery centers that have built an empire implanting the weight-loss devices in people looking to shed pounds.

Paula Rojeski, 55, of Orange County died shortly after undergoing Lap-Band surgery at a clinic affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign, according to records.