Eye specialist: Melgen’s process was innovative
Ophthalmologist from Clearwater says he uses similar techniques.
WEST PALM BEACH — Dr. Salomon Melgen’s claims that he was an innovative ophthalmologist who would do anything to save his patients’ sight got a boost Monday from a Clearwater retinal specialist.
Contrar y to t wo nationally renowned eye doctors — who blasted Melgen’s methods as antiquated, unnecessary and potentially harmful — Dr. Dana Deupree said he uses some of the same tactics as Melgen at his practice on Florida’s west coast.
“It’s an interesting approach,” Deupree said as he examined a chart that showed the Palm Beach County ophthalmologist used lowpower lasers to treat an elderly woman who was nearly blind in one eye and was losing her vision in the other. “I’m kind of doing this at this point. I wasn’t a couple of years ago but I am now and some eyes are coming around.”
Deupree is expected to be the last witness to testify for Melgen, who is charged with 76 counts of health care fraud for allegedly bilking Medicare out of as much as $105 million. He is expected Get news from Palm Beach County courtrooms at PalmBeachPost. to remain on the witness stand for most of this week. Then, after roughly six weeks of testimony, the case is to go to the jury.
Just as the experts called by federal prosecutors did, Deupree is painstakingly going through the charts and eye scans of each of the 30 patients who form the basis for Melgen’s indictment. The wealthy, politically connected 62-year-old doctor, who operated four clinics from Delray Beach to Port St. Lucie, also faces corruption charges in New Jersey along with his powerful friend, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.
While experts called by federal prosecutors saw no signs in the scans to confirm Melgen’s diagnoses of wet macular degeneration, Deupree looked at the same images and said the patients suffered from the disease, which slowly robs the elderly of their vision.