Saturday, March 22, 2008

Dozens of gastric bypass malpractice lawsuits against bariatric surgeon costs him medical license, leads to new law


Wilmington, NC
The case of former Wilmington surgeon Dr. Steven Olchowski, who for years performed the wrong surgery on dozens of patients, helped bring to light the need for changes at the North Carolina Medical Board. One change requires the Medical Board to publish more information about disciplinary action taken against physicians. But some think the law doesn't go far enough.

From 2000 to 2002, former Wilmington bariatric surgeon Steven Olchowski was performing gastric bypass surgery on dozens of patients. During that time, his North Carolina Medical Board record was clean. Olchowski promised his patients one form of gastric bypass surgery but instead performed a short-cut bariatric operation.

It took three years and three-dozen gastric bypass surgery malpractice lawsuits against Olchowski for the North Carolina Medical Board to revoke his license in 2005. While the gastric bypass malpractice lawsuits were litigated, the medical board was limited in what it could make public.

A state law that went into effect last Fall requires the Medical Board to release more disciplinary information. State Representative Lucy Allen sponsored the legislation.

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