Local

Woman Googles self, finds post-surgery breast photos

MARIETTA, Ga. — A local woman said her Cobb County doctor's office invaded her privacy by posting pictures of her post-surgery breasts online.

The school counselor said she was horrified when she made the discovery after a Google search of her name.

"After having excruciating pain in my neck and shoulders, I decided to get a medically necessary procedure done," she told Channel 2's Rachel Stockman

The Marietta woman asked not to be identified because she is embarrassed by what happened. The breast reduction procedure took place at Marietta Plastic Surgery.

During the procedure, she said staff took "before and after" photos of her. She signed a waiver, which specifically said her name will never be associated with her photos if they are posted on the doctors' website, but she said that wasn't the case.

"I doubled-checked, 'Is this really me?' It had my name right there. I knew it when I saw my photos, I knew that was me," she said. 

The surgery clinic's attorney told Stockman they take patient confidentiality seriously, but can't comment publicly on the case because of privacy laws.

The Marietta woman said her job as a school counselor puts her in a particularly precarious position.

"I constantly worry if parents, students (or) administrators saw the pictures," she said.

Her attorney, Mike Regas, said the doctor's office pulled the picture down but said his client knows that nothing ever disappears from the Internet.

"It has really made me question what is really kept confidential," she said.