Virginia doctor who 'unnecessarily' removed uterus, tied fallopian tubes of patients without consent arrested
A Virginia gynecologist has allegedly performed hysterectomies and tied fallopian tubes of a number of patients without their consent, according to Federal authorities.
After a year-long investigation, the FBI arrested 69-year-old Javaid Perwaiz on Friday after it was found he was "performing unnecessary surgeries on unsuspecting patients", per papers filed with the Eastern District of Virginia, ABC News reports.
According to the report, a hospital employee who first suspected Perwaiz, tipped off the bureau about his alleged activities.
The indictment states that patients would come to the hospital for "annual cleanouts", but in reality would be subjected to a range of procedures they were not previously informed about.
Perwaiz, in one case, repeatedly asked one of his victims whether she was planning to have another child.
Following a visit to a fertility specialist in 2014, the patient was told by Perwaiz that both her "fallopian tubes were burnt down to nubs, making natural conception impossible."
He subsequently removed the woman's fallopian tubes without her consent or knowledge, court documents allege.
Another patient who was under the impression she would only have her ovaries removed reportedly had a full hysterectomy performed on her.
She later told police she was "shocked" after finding Perwaiz had listed the hysterectomy as an "elective surgery" on her medical file.
According to the indictment, other doctors later informed her there were several less invasive methods available to her.
Some of his patients were subjected to the same surgery on an annual basis, according to a review of Medicaid claims made by them.
Perwaiz was found to have performed surgery on 510 patients in a span of four years starting January 2014. Authorities noted that 42 percent of them had undergone at least two operations.
According to the review, Perwaiz had a "propensity to conduct bundled surgeries," including laparoscopy, dilation and curettage, and lysis of adhesions.
Furthermore, it was also found Perwaiz had wrongly charged health care providers and insurance companies by claiming fictitious ailments.
The disgraced doctor was taken into custody Friday and has since been held at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail in Suffolk, Virginia.
Authorities also found Perwaiz had a long history of medical malpractice.
He was stripped of hospital privileges at a medical center in Portsmouth, Virginia, back in 1982 "due to poor clinical judgment and for performing unnecessary surgeries without appropriate medical indications and contrary to sound judgment."
Then, in 1996, his medical license was temporarily revoked after he pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion.
That said, prosecutors found Perwaiz has been sued a staggering eight times for medical malpractice. His patients alleged that he "falsified patient records to justify a medical procedure, failed to use less invasive techniques, performed as many as 30 surgeries in one day, and provided substandard care that resulted in irreparable permanent injuries to three patients and life-threatening injuries to another two patients."
Nonetheless, Perwaiz is currently remanded in custody without bond.