An Indian-American surgeon, dubbed "Doctor Death", accused of performing operations carelessly leading to the death of several patients in Australia has been banned from practicing in Oregon, United States, where he had worked before moving to Queensland.
The Oregon Board of Medical Examiners deactivated Jayant Patel's license on April 15, making it illegal for him to practice. The board did this on technical grounds, not medical grounds, because he had failed to notify them about his
decision to move to Australia, a media report said.
Patel is facing a major investigation in Australia for allegedly botching surgeries and falsifying records during a two-year tenure at a public hospital in Queensland, after he left Oregon.
The Indian-born doctor had earlier been disciplined by medical authorities in Oregon and New York before he moved to practice in Australia, the report said.
In 2000, the Oregon medical board disciplined him for "gross or repeated acts of negligence." Patel was also found to have engaged in "unprofessional or dishonorable conduct," while working for Kaiser Permanente in Portland from 1989 to 2001, according to board records.
Records reveal that he performed a "colostomy backwards," and the patient required additional surgery. The board also
cited three patients who died after Patel performed surgery, according to The Oregonian newspaper.