Pharmacy warned about numbing gel
CARY -- The Food and Drug Administration issued
a warning letter this week to the pharmacy that made
a numbing cream blamed in the death of an N.C. State
University student.
Triangle Compounding Pharmacy in Cary received the
letter for an incident that occurred nearly two years
ago.
Shiri Berg, an NCSU student, got a tube of the lidocaine
numbing cream from a day spa where she planned to
have laser hair removal Dec. 28, 2004. She applied
the gel to her legs, became sick and died about a
week later. An autopsy revealed she had overdosed
on lidocaine, a powerful prescription anesthetic.
The day spa later closed, and the doctor who oversaw
its operations was disciplined.
Joe Cabaleiro, owner of the pharmacy, said the FDA
letter he received this week simply reinforced what
he was already doing. He said he has not made the
numbing cream since the incident "out of concern
that we couldn't control how it was used after it
left us."
