A former Launceston plastic surgeon has been fined $2,000 after failing to properly warn a patient about the risks of a tummy tuck that left her needing 12 follow-up operations.
Gary Kode operated on the woman at Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital on June 20, 2019.
She had lost up to 50 kilograms after gastric bypass surgery and travelled from Victoria to have loose skin removed from her stomach.
Two expert surgeons who gave evidence to a tribunal agreed the operation itself was performed competently.
But her recovery went badly wrong. Tissue around her belly button lost its blood supply and began to die.
She underwent emergency surgery four days after returning home, then needed another 12 procedures to remove dead tissue, as well as two skin grafts.
The Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) said it was “entirely satisfied” her “suffering was significant and prolonged” and that she still lives with some of the consequences.
Kode normally saw patients twice before surgery, using the second appointment to talk through the risks specific to their procedure.
That appointment never happened in this case.
Kode told the tribunal he believed the woman had missed it. The tribunal found he was mistaken but accepted that belief was genuine.
As a result, the woman was never told that complications occur in 20% to 30% of these operations.
The tribunal found Kode’s failure to obtain informed consent amounted to unprofessional conduct.
The Medical Board of Australia had formally cautioned him over consent in February 2018, a little over a year before the surgery.
The board sought a four-month suspension or a $30,000 fine.
It also alleged Kode failed to properly consider the woman’s weight, smoking and mental health, operated when it was not in her best interests and failed to arrange appropriate aftercare.
The tribunal rejected those allegations, finding the case ultimately came down to the missed second appointment.
It described Kode as “at least in part a victim of circumstances” and said his small practice was not set up to properly manage interstate patients.
The tribunal said he had been “greatly chastened” and that the finding would remain on his registration as “a terrible and greatly regretted blot on an otherwise unblemished record as a highly competent surgeon”.
Kode wound up his Launceston practice and moved to Melbourne after the case.
He surrendered his specialist registration in July and is retiring.
