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November 01, 2003
A Dangerous Doctor?
The Rocky Mountain News has done an expose on a secret report conducted on the former chairman of the Neurosurgery Department at University Hospital in Denver. The doctor, Issam Awad, came to hospital with impeccable credentials. He was a former president of the National Congress of Neurological Surgeons, had worked at top-flight neurological centers, was a speaker & author on neurosurgery, and has performed over 3000 neurosurgeries. On paper, just the kind of doctor you would want operating on you.
The report on Dr. Issam Awad was the result of a report done by a committee of five peers, all top doctors. The committee was appointed by the president of the hospital’s medical board to investigate charges by three chief residents who said Awad had injuring patients. In addition, five residents in the Neurosurgery program stated they did not want to work with Awad anymore. During the investigation four senior neurosurgeons at the hospital gave very “harsh judgments of Awad”.
Some excerpts from the article:
“Breeze told the committee that Awad is incompetent clinically and ethically. "I have a very difficult time believing anything he writes in the chart or tells me."…
“Kindt said that the head of the search committee that eventually recommended hiring Awad as chairman of neurosurgery told Kindt to call past and current colleagues of Awad to ask about him. Kindt said he did so and was told that Awad was a poor surgeon and that people "hated" him, the report said.“…
“The panel turned to consultant Robertson for his bottom-line impressions. In a final set of questions, the report said, the committee asked Robertson:
Would he refer a patient to Awad? His answer was no.
Would he hire Awad into a neurosurgical department knowing what he knows about him now? He answered no.
Was Awad’s performance, based on many of the cases reviewed, below the standard of neurosurgical care? He said yes. “
The committee concluded its 80 page report by recommending that the hospital permanently bar Dr. Awad from practicing at that hospital. Four days later the hospital’s medical board reinstated Dr. Awad with full privileges. He’ll continue to teach, perform surgery and collect his $448,000 salary… but he will no longer run the department.
Read the article, there are some who defend Dr. Awad. But I have one question…
Would you want to have any kind of surgery at a hospital that would choose to retain surgeons who’ve had these kinds of complaints?
Posted by Dave at November 1, 2003 11:48 AM
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