Doctor’s Possible Suspension Fought

An attorney for a Lynwood doctor accused of contributing to the death of one liposuction patient and seriously harming two others asked a judge Tuesday to spare his client’s medical license from suspension because, he said, the charges are dated and the evidence is “one-sided.”

Meanwhile, the Medical Board of California filed two new petitions against Dr. Patrick Chavis, an obstetrician-gynecologist who also runs what he calls a “body sculpting” business.

In the new petitions, the state agency says Chavis allowed his nurse to perform liposuction on two patients who later required emergency hospitalization, that he improperly treated an abortion patient who developed a serious infection, and that he improperly dispensed blood-thinning drugs to a patient already at risk for excessive bleeding.

Chavis “doesn’t follow the rules,” said state Deputy Atty. Gen. Richard Avila, arguing for an immediate emergency suspension of Chavis’ license. “This physician doesn’t assume responsibility for anything that went wrong.”

Administrative Law Judge Samuel D. Reyes said he would not issue a decision on the state’s emergency petition until he had reviewed all hospital documents related to Chavis’ cases. That decision could come as early as today.

Chavis’ attorney, Robert D. Walker, contended that the state’s case is not backed up by complete medical records. He also said that with the exception of one liposuction case in May, most of the allegations are related to procedures performed last year, which he said is hardly evidence of an emergency situation.

“We very, very seriously dispute these ‘facts,’ ” Walker said, adding later: “If these kinds of charges had any chance of being correct, Dr. Chavis wouldn’t be sitting here. He’d be sitting in jail.”

At one point, Walker suggested that Chavis may be a victim of retaliation by St. Francis Medical Center, the Lynwood hospital that reported him to state authorities.

According to Walker, Chavis, who is black, was a “whistle-blower” for minority nurses at the hospital, and he may have been victimized by Catholic nuns at the facility who oppose his performance of abortions.

Although Chavis briefly took the stand to explain documents submitted by the defense, he did not comment directly on the allegations against him either inside or outside court.

The proceeding took place amid unusual security measures, with a guard checking bags and running a hand-held metal detector over everyone who entered. At the end of the hearing, Chavis, surrounded by a group of office employees, was chased out of the building by a swarm of reporters with television cameras.

The well-publicized case has drawn criticism from consumer advocates and a malpractice attorney who argue that the state’s response to such serious allegations has been unacceptably slow. The case has also alarmed some in the medical community, who fear that too many untrained physicians are trying their hand at plastic surgery to make fast money.

According to the state’s original petition, Chavis last June left one groggy liposuction patient with a nurse in his office to check on another one--bedridden, blood-soaked and unattended--at his Compton home. The patient in the office ultimately died of massive blood loss.

A month earlier, the state alleges, Chavis performed surgery on a woman who was hospitalized after losing 70% of her blood volume.

That woman, who attended Tuesday’s hearing with her family, said afterward that she is dismayed at the state’s inability to convince the judge of the case’s urgency.

“I’m very disappointed in the proceeding,” Yolanda Mukhalian said. “I’m very disappointed in [the state’s] presentation. They should have been properly prepared.”

Chavis’ is the third case in the past year in which a Southern California practitioner has been tied to the death of a liposuction patient. In Orange County this year, plastic surgeon W. Earle Matory Jr. and an anesthesiologist were accused of gross negligence in the death of a patient subjected to nearly 11 hours of liposuction surgery.

Last week, authorities in San Bernardino County filed homicide charges against a nonphysician whose 52-year-old female patient died after liposuction surgery. The woman’s 14-year-old daughter was allegedly enlisted to assist in the surgery at her Rancho Cucamonga home. The suspect’s attorney says he is licensed to practice medicine in South America.