The 13 Worst Doctors of All Time
Greg First, do no harm. Most doctors respect and obey this critical medical rule. They want to help, not hurt, their patients. But there are a few who seem to have missed this important message. They may look at their patients and see an opportunity to make money. Or they may see a chance to vent their rage. Or they may simply not care enough to be careful when taking care of people. Whether it's breaching the bounds of professional safety to cater to an aging pop star (ahem, Dr. Conrad Murray), showing up drunk for an emergency room shift, being unable to diagnose something as basic as pregnancy, or wreaking havoc on your patients' genitals, there are doctors out there who you're better off steering clear of. Read on to learn about some of the worst doctors of all time: thirteen doctors who should be avoided, at all costs.
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Dr. Gerianne Geszler and Dr. Dorrette Grant
There is a medical condition called pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy, which makes a woman mimic the symptoms of pregnancy: swollen stomach, no periods, morning sickness. However, the key word here is "false." A quick look at an ultrasound will show that there is no baby on the way. Dr. Gerianne Geszler and Dr. Dorrette Grant were working at the Cape Fear Medical Center in North Carolina when a woman suffering from pseudocyesis showed up. When no heartbeat was detected on an ultrasound (remember, no baby = no heartbeat!), the two doctors rushed the woman in for a C-section, trying to save the distressed fetus. It was only upon opening the woman's uterus that they realized there was nothing inside. At least they noticed then.
Doctor Perform C-Section to Find Woman Isn't Pregnant
Web MD: False Pregnancy - 7
Dr. Loren Borud
In 2008, Dr. Loren Borud, a plastic surgeon in Massachusetts with a history of drug and alcohol abuse, fell asleep while performing liposuction on a patient, a great indicator of a truly awful doctor. However, there was another terrible doctor on duty that day: Borud's supervisor, Dr. Donald Moorman, the vice chair of the surgical department of the hospital where Dr. Borud was operating, was told that same day that Dr. Borud was operating while impaired. Dr. Moorman had options: he could have called the operating room or sent another surgeon to check that everything was okay. Instead, he did nothing, perhaps because he didn't want to interrupt Dr. Borud's beauty sleep? Either way, if your doctor looks tired, be very afraid.
Doctor Censured in OR Sleeping Case
State Suspends Plastic Surgeon's License - 8
Dr. Andrew Holton
While working as a pediatric neurologist in England, Dr. Andrew Holton managed to misdiagnose 618 children with epilepsy, sentencing some of them to years on unnecessary drug regimes, which included side effects like black-outs and hazes. Many of the children simply had headaches or behavioral problems. If you wonder how Dr. Holton managed such a feat of misdiagnosis, it turns out he actually wasn't qualified to work in pediatric neurology.
Misdiagnosed Victims Paid Compensation - 9
Dr. Yasser Awaad
At least the previous doctor was probably just an idiot. Dr. Yasser Awaad, a pediatric neurologist in Detroit, stands accused of falsely diagnosing 255 patients with epilepsy in order to make money via insurance reimbursements. Like with Dr. Holton, patients had unnecessary drug regimes, but Dr. Awaad took things a step further and also performed unnecessary surgeries to implant devices for controlling seizures. Devices his patients didn't need since they didn't actually have epilepsy. So remember kids: get a second opinion before letting someone operate on your brain!
Misdiagnosed for Greed?
Lawsuit Claims Doctor Misdiagnosed for Cash - 10
Doctors Who Can't Tell Left from Right
Benjamin Houghton, an Air Force Veteran, checked into a VA Medical Center in 2006 to have his potentially cancerous left testicle removed. Doctors there removed his healthy right testicle instead. Sadly, word of this medical error didn't reach doctors in Italy. In 2010 a 27-year-old man with a tumor in his left testicle got on the operating table, where surgeons removed his right testicle. The surgeons then quickly realized their mistake and removed the left testicle, too. So guys, to be safe, for testicle-related care you probably want to avoid VA centers. And Italy.
Veteran Files Claim
Italian Gets 180,000 Euros
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