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Dr. Charlie Teo defends botched surgeries as he faces a hearing over concerns he offered patients false hope.
Dr. Charlie Teo will face a second day of questioning by a medical complaints board, as he has so far defended his decision to perform two ultimately catastrophic surgeries.
The renowned neurosurgeon is the subject of a Health Care Complaints Commission hearing over concerns including that he offered patients false hope regarding their chance of survival.
Asked Thursday by commission counsel Kate Richardson SC why he disagreed with other experts’ evidence, Dr. Teo struck a defiant tone, praising his expertise.
He said he would not expect fellow neurologists Professor Bryant Stokes and Associate Professor Andrew Morokoff to know as much about brain stem tumors as he did, because it was not their specialty.
“It’s not just about reading a brain scan, it’s the nuances of a ‘sub-sub-specialty,'” he said.
Neurosurgeon Charlie Teo is famous for performing neurosurgery on patients with tumors deemed inoperable.
“I have more experience with brain stem tumors and brain stem tumor surgery than almost anyone in the world.”
The controversial surgeon was at times frustrated by Ms Richardson’s cross-examination.
‘I don’t blame you for being confused… but it’s what I do for a living,’ he told her.
The investigation heard that Dr. Teo told a patient that he had a five percent chance of a devastating outcome, such as death, locked-in syndrome, or complete paralysis.
“Five percent risk of a bad outcome means a 95 percent chance of a reasonable outcome,” he said.
In August 2021, the NSW Medical Council stopped Dr Teo from operating without another doctor’s approval after an investigation by the state’s health care complaints commission.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Neurosurgeon Charlie Teo (left) and his fiancee Traci Griffiths (right) arrive for an inquiry by the Health Care Complaints Commission’s Professional Standards Committee, in Sydney