‘Oh, something is there,’ patient said doctor commented as he began to molest her, state says
A patient’s allegation of molestation led to Monday’s emergency suspension of a Sarasota medical doctor’s license by Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees.
The emergency suspension order (ESO) came down on Thomas Lohstreter, a 70-year-old who went to medical school and practiced in Minnesota before relocating to Florida. According to Florida Department of Health records, Lohstreter has been licensed in Florida since December 2017 with no previous disciplinary actions.
Lohstreter had no comment when reached by the Miami Herald Wednesday morning. His attorney, Bruce Lamb, said he didn’t comment on pending legal matters involving his clients.
A check of Sarasota and Charlotte counties’ court records show neither criminal charges nor civil charges have been filed against Lohstreter.
The ESO says a 56-year-old patient came to the South County Medical Center in Englewood to deal with nausea and appetite loss she felt while taking an antidepressant prescribed by Lohstreter. Here’s what how the ESO describes the doctor-patient encounter:
Lohstreter told the patient to lie down on an exam table. After pulling up her shirt and bra, “he felt” the patient’s “left breast while touching his genital area on the outside of his pants with his other hand.”
He pulled her pants down, massaged her stomach and moved his hands lower.
“Dr. Lohstreter stated, ‘Oh, something is there.’ He touched [the patient’s] vaginal area with his bare finger and said, ‘Oh, it’s your clitoris.’“
While rubbing that part, Lohstreter continued to self-stimulate through his pants. As he left the room, “Patient ... noticed his penis was visibly erect.”
The ESO said, “Dr. Lohstreter’s conduct of inappropriately touching a patient while masturbating was so brazen and showed such a wanton disregard for the laws and rules regulating the practice of medicine that any patient who presents to Dr. Lohstreter for any purpose is in danger of harm within the confines of his examination room.”
