Supporters out in force at Dr Charlie Teo’s medical complaints hearing

Even as a committee hears explosive claims about him, former patients saved by neurosurgeon Charlie Teo have been lining up to defend him as he battles to restore his career.

As controversial neurosurgeon Charlie Teo fights to salvage his career, it’s his patients who are giving him the strength to carry on.

For four days the public has heard distressing details of two cases that went horribly wrong.

Dr Teo has been refused permission to present any evidence or details about the “good outcomes” of similar cases — or the fact he’s had just 12 deaths out of 11,000 patients (0.0011 per cent) — but that hasn’t stopped the patients and their families from pushing to be heard.

Outside the Pitt St building Dr Teo was met by dozens of familiar faces — some of them celebrities — as he arrived for the start of the Health Care Complaints Commission hearing.

Dr Teo is facing two complaints of “unsatisfactory conduct” related to the care of two female patients who had aggressive, late-stage brain cancers.

Chair of the HCCC’s professional standards committee, Jennifer Boland, has refused to release the exact nature and detail of the complaints to the media or the public until the proceedings have been completed.

Neurosurgeon Charlie Teo and his fiance Traci Griffiths are greeted by supporters as they are arrive at the Health Care Complaints Commission hearings. Picture: Tim Hunter

However, both complaints include that Dr Teo did not sufficiently inform patients about the risks.

The husband of Patient A, a 41-year-old mother from Western Australia, claims Dr Teo did not tell he and his wife all the risks associated with the removal of her high-grade brain stem glioma in the consultation — and that the risk of “devastating outcome or death” was 5 per cent.

Mick Carroll’s Editorial: Charlie Teo case must be about medicine alone

She was told she had an average of six months to live, and walked into surgery “cognitively sharp” and able to walk. However, she did not regain consciousness and was left in a vegetative state before she died a few months later.

Patient B’s husband claimed Dr Teo ”acted negligently” and removed “too much” of his wife’s brain.

Neurosurgery experts in the hearing were of the opinion Dr Teo did remove an “unorthodox” amount of healthy tissue, although one said that was normal practice for brain surgeons.

“It’s standard practice, every neurosurgeon would be guilty of not declaring they take out normal tissue to access a brain tumour,” neurosurgeon Paul D’Urso said.

“Sometimes it’s a little bit, sometimes an excessive amount … That’s what we have to do.”

Alan Suy with Tammy Thompson show their support for Dr Teo outside the hearing.

The husband of Patient B, a 61-year-old Victorian grandmother, also claimed he was not made aware of the risks of the surgery.

“Charlie said he would tell it as it is … he said: ‘If you don’t have the operation by Tuesday you will be dead by Friday’. He said: ‘I will buy you time’,” the tribunal heard.

“But he said: ‘If you don’t have the surgery, that’s fine a tumour is a f--king good way to die, you will feel no pain, you will fall asleep’.

He also claimed Dr Teo told his wife: “What the f--k are you crying about, I'm here to fix you. You should be happy.”

Her husband told the tribunal the risks posed by the surgery were paralysis down the left side — which she had anyway — and memory loss.

His complaint also relates to allegations Dr Teo slapped his wife across the face to rouse her and told a nurse to tie her to a chair with bed sheets.

Australia Test captain Steve Waugh was a familiar face in the crowd of supporters. Picture: AAP

While Dr Teo, who defends his actions, knew his professional conduct was on the line, he wasn’t prepared for what he and his supporters consider a “character assassination”.

Outside of court earlier this week Dr Teo said: “The role of a doctor is to do the best they can for their patient. Not to be perfect, not to be faultless, not to be everyone’s friend, not to be politically correct.

“The worst thing to come out of my vilification and persecution by nameless and faceless cowards is the clear message it sends to young doctors.

“If you dare to challenge the status quo or push the envelope in Australia, we will use the governing bodies, our deep pockets, the media and whatever means it takes … to restrict your ability to practise your profession and destroy your reputation. You will suffer the same fate as Charlie Teo.”

On Friday Dr Teo refused to comment on the hearing due to the fact he was part way through his evidence.

His exasperation, though, evident in his own testimony on Thursday, is borne from a confusion about why he is “being treated like a criminal”, those close to him say.

Dr Teo told the hearing that, when it comes to standard brain tumours, his “devastating outcome and death percentages” are 0.012 per cent.

Anthony Mundine, with Cooper Chahine and twin sister Madison, and …

… former Canterbury footballer Graham Hughes were there too.

While the hearing was told other experts believed the surgeries at the centre of the complaints were “futile” and “of no benefit”, Dr Teo defended his approach to them, saying he was the most experienced surgeon when it came to the tumours in question.

“I have more experience than almost everyone in the world (when it comes to these tumours),” Dr Teo said in his evidence on Thursday.

“If you look at the literature on brain stem tumours the largest series is written by me.”

Dr Teo says only 2 per cent of these patients survive five years, but he has had one patient who has lived another 17 years and his longest survivor is 20 years.

Patients who sought out Dr Teo after being refused surgery by other doctors are this weekend busily preparing posters and rallying their friends and family to again gather at the HCCC hearing on Monday when Dr Teo gives his final day of evidence.

In a message to his supporters during the week Dr Teo said: “I am due to have my final say against those trying to bring me down … If you would like to show your support … the media will be there who want to hear from you, and not just the particular media with a vendetta to vilify me. Bring your signs, banners and incredible spirit and together, let’s come out fighting”.

Dr Teo has defended his medical decisions. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

While former Australian Test cricket captain Steve Waugh and his wife Lynette were two of the first people to arrive at the hearing on Monday — along with fellow NSW cricketer Gavin Robertson and champion league player and boxer Anthony Mundine — it was the people who still need Dr Teo’s help who are driving him to keep fighting.

Alan Suy believes people should have the option to choose Dr Teo, saying the restrictions already placed upon the doctor, and any further action, denies Australians of their right to choose.

His daughter Madeline was diagnosed with the deadliest “worst of the worst” brain stem tumour that no surgeon wants to touch and kills children within a year of diagnosis.

The diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is one of two forms of tumour considered “inoperable” that have landed Dr Charlie Teo in hot water with the NSW Medical Council.

Dr Teo operated on Madeline at Prince of Wales Private Hospital on December 15, 2020.

Post-op MRI scans showed “a significant debulking of the tumour”.

This week Mr Suy held a poster alongside dozens of supporters outside the hearing. “He is not god, but thank god we have him,” Mr Suy said.

“Maddie is currently on a clinical trial now. If and when this drug trial doesn’t work I will explore other options. But if I run out of options I want Charlie Teo as an option.”

Samantha Halmoukos drove from Melbourne to support Dr Teo on his first day in the witness box, and broke down in tears when she revealed Dr Teo had “saved my life”.

“I can’t even say it without being too emotional. He’s my hope,” she said.

“I think this is a bit of an attack. Charlie’s been great for keeping in contact and making sure I’m getting the help.”

However, it was a different story inside the hearing.

Professor Andrew Morokoff, an expert called by the HCCC, said there was no statistical data, medical literature or guidelines to support Dr Teo’s decision to operate on Patient A, and that his estimates of devastating outcomes were “falsely low”.

With Dr Teo due to continue evidence on Monday, his supporters, like patient Tammy Thompson are ready to stand by him once more.

“I flew from Cootamundra (on the first day) and I plan to come back again on Monday,” she said.

“He saved my life and I feel the need to support him in the way he did for me.”

Cydonee Mardon is a former patient of Dr Charlie Teo.