A doctor in Virginia allegedly performed hysterectomies and tied a patient’s fallopian tubes without consent, federal authorities said in court documents.
Javaid Perwaiz, who is 69-years-old, was arrested Friday and charged with health care fraud and making false statements to federal investigators, according to papers filed in the Eastern District of Virginia.
In one case, Perwaiz, who is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Chesapeake, told a woman she needed a hysterectomy after discovering the “imminent onset” of cancer, the documents said.
The patient objected and asked instead for a less invasive operation, in which only her ovaries were removed, the court papers said.
When the woman awoke from surgery, “she was shocked to discover Perwaiz performed a total abdominal hysterectomy.” The doctor also cut the patient’s bladder in the process, causing sepsis and requiring a six-day hospital stay, investigators claimed.
When the woman later obtained her medical records, the surgery was described as “elective” and cancer was not mentioned, they said.
In another case, Perwaiz performed a hysterectomy on a woman, who he described in medical records as having “chronic pelvic pain, pressure and persistent cramping.”
The woman went to Pervaiz for post-menopausal bleeding and later told investigators she had not experienced any of those symptoms. Perwaiz had warned her only about the potential consequences, including cancer, if she did not undergo the procedure.
The documents cite other witnesses who indicate that Perwaiz “routinely used the ‘C-word’ (cancer) to scare patients into having surgery.”
Another woman who saw Perwaiz for an ectopic pregnancy later visited a fertility specialist for help getting pregnant. The specialist said both her fallopian tubes “were burnt down to the nubs, making natural conception impossible,” according to the documents.
Perwaiz’s lawyer did not immediately respond Sunday to a request for comment.
Perwaiz lost his admitting privileges in 1982 at a hospital in nearby Portsmouth for performing unnecessary surgeries and poor clinical judgment, according to the documents.
He has faced eight malpractice suits, including allegations he caused permanent injuries to three patients and life-threatening injuries to two others and failed to use techniques that were not invasive.
At the time of his arrest, Perwaiz was affiliated with Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, according to the Virginian-Pilot.
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