Doctors Face License Loss in Cosmetic Surgery Death

COSTA MESA —  An Irvine plastic surgeon and his anesthesiologist whose patient died after more than 10 hours of surgery were grossly negligent and should lose their licenses, the state Medical Board charged Thursday.

The complaint accuses Dr. William Earle Matory Jr. and Dr. Robert Ken Hoo of “gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, incompetence and dishonesty” in connection with the March 17 death of Judy Fernandez, 47, of La Habra.

The charges come two weeks after an Orange County Superior Court commissioner, at the California Medical Board’s request, temporarily suspended the doctors’ licenses pending an administrative hearing.

The doctors “are unfit to practice medicine,” Ronald Joseph, the board’s executive director, said in the complaint.

Matory’s attorneys could not be reached for comment Thursday. They have said it was anesthesiologist Hoo’s job to monitor the patient’s vital signs, not Matory’s.

Arthur Chenen, a lawyer representing Hoo, declined to comment on specifics of the case but said Thursday’s developments begin a process that will “give Dr. Hoo a chance to defend himself.” A hearing within 45 days before an administrative law judge will determine what, if any, disciplinary actions should be taken against the doctors, including the possible loss of their licenses, Chenen said.

Fernandez died after undergoing $20,000 worth of procedures including liposuction of the arms, legs, hips, buttocks, knees and back, a mini-face lift, brow lift and laser resurfacing of the skin on her face, neck and chest.

The state found that the doctors’ negligence allowed her to die from fluid overload, a fatal dilution of her blood and an overdose of anesthesia.

As part of the liposuction, she received about 15 liters of anesthetic-laced fluids directly into the sites where fat was to be removed. The anesthesiologist gave her another 19 liters of intravenous fluids, plus other medications throughout the day.

Matory is accused of offering a discount to Fernandez if she agreed to have all of the procedures done at once. In their complaint, Medical Board officials said Matory misrepresented the risks and severity of the surgery.

They also accused Matory of being ill-prepared for the daylong procedure and of continuing despite obvious signs that Fernandez was having trouble. According to the complaint, a nurse at Matory’s office voiced concerns about the patient’s condition at least three times during the surgery, but neither doctor responded.

At 4:45 p.m., after Fernandez had been under general anesthesia nearly 11 hours, Matory told the nurse to put shields over the patient’s eyes to protect them during the skin resurfacing. Fernandez’s face and eyelids were too swollen to permit the nurse to do that, the complaint said.

Matory “then grabbed the eye shields and forcefully placed them in the patient’s eyes,” according to the complaint. When the procedure was finished, he “pulled out the corneal shields and called the nurse a wimp.”

Matory and Hoo discussed sending Fernandez to the hospital, but made no arrangements to do so before the nurse finally called 911 shortly before 8 p.m., the complaint said.

Fernandez’s husband, Ruben Fernandez, said he was encouraged by the Medical Board’s action Thursday and hopes criminal charges will be brought against the doctors as well.

“It is the right step, not for our family but for the community,” he said.