Plastic surgeon probed

Claims no permission given for breast procedure

THE healthcare watchdog is investigating a Gold Coast plastic surgeon after a patient accused him of operating on her breast without consent and botching her boob job.

Details of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) complaint against surgeon Mark Doyle were revealed in the District Court in Brisbane.

Solicitor Kaine Shanahan from Gouldson Legal told the court on October 23 that he had recently spoken to AHPRA staff who had told him “their investigation” into Dr Doyle “remains ongoing”.

Mr Shanahan is representing patient Rhonda Joy Ewin, 67, from Elanora who has sued Dr Doyle, who practices as Gold Coast Plastic Surgery in Tugun.

Mr Shanahan has asked the District Court for an extension to ensure her claims for medical negligence don’t expire due to the three-year limitation period.

Ms Ewin claims Dr Doyle excised a scar below her right breast on March 31, 2015 “without consent or providing earlier warning”.

She claims the excision of the scar performed at John Flynn Private Hospital in Tugun “caused serious infection and inflammation” and led to her undergoing “urgent surgery to remove” breast implants and to clean a wound.

She claims her breasts have been disfigured by Dr Doyle’s actions and she has suffered a psychological injury.

The scarring was caused by earlier breast implant operations not performed by Dr Doyle.

Ms Ewin complained to the health Ombudsman in June 2015 and they referred her complaint to AHPRA in September 2015.

Her lawyers have filed a report by plastic surgeon Phil Richardson from Hamilton in court which states that Dr Doyle’s surgery on March 31, 2015 “was not reasonable” and “was below the level that would be appropriate”.

“It was a very high-risk manoeuvre without the consent of the patient” Dr Richardson wrote.