Cosmetic surgeon Dr Praveen Kumar fined by Ringwood court

A Malvern surgeon busted performing breast implant procedures without a licence has blamed his cheating wife for the lapse.

Cosmetic surgeon Praveen Kumar performed 33 surgeries while unlicensed and 238 consultations, Ringwood Magistrates’ Court heard. Picture: LinkedIn

A disgraced Melbourne cosmetic surgeon has blamed money troubles and his alleged cheating wife after he was caught practising without a licence.

Doctor Praveen Kumar continued to operate on dozens of breast implant and liposuction patients at Monash House Private Hospital in Clayton between late 2018 and early 2019, documents released by the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court reveal.

Dr Kumar, 38, performed 33 surgical procedures at Monash House while unregistered as well as 238 consultations at Cosmetic Avenue in Malvern for tummy tucks, breast surgery, liposuction and cosmetic injections.

He also repeatedly lied to his clinic directors when they questioned him about his licence renewal, according to court charge sheets.

Dr Kumar’s lawyer Sean Cash told the court his client was a skilled surgeon and his patients were not at risk of physical harm, but he conceded they would not have been insured had anything gone wrong on the operating table.

He told the court Dr Kumar was under “enormous financial pressure” at the time, in part due to a failed business venture, and couldn’t find the money to pay his $1500 registration renewal fee.

His client was also struggling to cope with the breakdown of his marriage and his father’s illness, Mr Cash told the court.

“He was in great personal turmoil because of the relationship with his partner,” Mr Cash told the court.

“He was greatly affected by infidelity on her part, depression on his part.”

Dr Kumar, a graduate of Melbourne University’s prestigious school of medicine, had been registered to practise since 2007 and had no criminal history, Mr Cash told the court.

Dr Kumar told the court at an earlier hearing he’d since regained his registration but was forced to move to Perth because he couldn’t find a job in Melbourne due to his ongoing court case.

He pleaded guilty on December 18 to more than 50 charges of practising without a licence.

Robyn Curnow for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency urged Magistrate David Starvaggi to convict Dr Kumar, but Mr Cash submitted a conviction could damage his client’s career prospects.

Mr Starvaggi fined Dr Kumar $20,000 without conviction and ordered he pay AHPRA’s $27,121 legal costs.