Malpractice Suit Against Nezhat Brothers Quietly Resolved
The Georgia malpractice suit that "sparked a firestorm of controversy" surrounding Stanford University surgeons Camran and Farr Nezhat has ended, but neither side has disclosed how the dispute was resolved, the San Jose Mercury News reports (Ostrov, San Jose Mercury News, 6/4). A docket entry in Fulton County Superior Court shows that Stacey Mullen, a California woman who alleged she was "grievously injured" during a surgery performed by the Nezhats in 1991, withdrew her lawsuit on May 24. Court records of the case remain sealed, and Mullen's Atlanta attorney, Robin Loeb, "would confirm only that 'the case has been resolved'" (Russell, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/5). Neither the Nezhats -- who have "consistently denied wrongdoing" -- nor their attorney returned calls to the Mercury News. Mullen had alleged that the Nezhats performed a "risky experimental procedure without her consent" to treat endometriosis and that the surgery resulted in severe permanent injury. The Nezhats came to Stanford from Atlanta in 1993, "having been hailed for their innovations in the field of gynecologic surgery and the treatment of endometriosis." But after their arrival, two Stanford colleagues accused the Nezhats of "performing needless operations and covering up" surgical complications, and two newspaper stories said the brothers "withh[eld] serious complications of new surgical techniques in published journal articles" (San Jose Mercury News, 6/4). Later, the journal Surgical Laparoscopy, Endoscopy and Percutaneous Techniques renounced two articles by the Nezhats. In addition, Stanford stripped the Nezhats and their brother, Ceana, of teaching privileges at Stanford Medical School and removed them as directors of the Stanford Endoscopy Center for Training and Technology (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/5).
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