Banned vet Dr Chris Preston lodges VCAT appeal in bid to return to work

Banned vet Dr Chris Preston says his case is “not dissimilar to Dr Charlie Teo the famous neurosurgeon”.

Veterinary surgeon Dr Chris Preston with Bailey the Burmese Mountain dog.

A disgraced vet whose registration was sensationally cancelled earlier this year will fight to return to work.

Former Malvern East vet Dr Chris Preston was banned from working as a vet after a scathing series of findings by a Veterinary Practitioners Board disciplinary panel.

But he has since lodged an appeal, and his lawyers are expected to ask the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to impose a short suspension on his registration instead of cancelling it permanently.

Dr Preston told the Herald Sun: “My case is not dissimilar to Dr Charlie Teo the famous neurosurgeon”.

“I was high profile, inventive, US trained and took on complex cases.”

The disciplinary panel found Dr Preston’s treatment of a family’s young rottweiler, Onyx, led to “pain for the (dog) and anxiety, grief, confusion and expense for the owners”.

Onyx eventually had to be put down.

Tonyalee and Caroline pictured holding Onyx's ashes, says they were forced to put him down after three "botched" surgeries by Melbourne vet, Dr Chris Preston, in May this year. Picture: David Caird

Dr Preston’s botched surgery on a greyhound, Tonto, led to a month-long infection and, ultimately, amputation.

The dogs’ owners were hit with massive bills for ineffective surgeries which did more harm than good.

Onyx’s owner, Tonyalee Boxall, told the panel presiding over Dr Preston’s disciplinary hearing: “This entire experience has been traumatic and heartbreaking to go through not only for Onyx but our whole family”.

The tribunal found Dr Preston’s conduct fell “well below the standards expected” and represented an escalation of his long history of misconduct.

Tonto the greyhound had his hind leg amputated following complications from a surgery performed by Dr Chris Preston in 2018.

“Previous sanctions appear to have had little impact on Dr Preston’s practice,” the disciplinary panel found.

Lawyers for Dr Preston were listed to appear briefly before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Monday.

The substance of Dr Preston’s appeal is yet to be aired in public hearings, but his lawyers have long argued cancelling his registration was excessive.

Dr Preston’s lawyers previously said he was “essentially a capable veterinary specialist who was well regarded by his peers”, and that his work would be an asset to the profession “if his deficiencies could be corrected”.

The disciplinary panel rejected that argument, saying he had shown “serious shortfalls in skill and capability”.

During the disciplinary hearings, Dr Preston showed little empathy for the animals and their owners.

The members of the disciplinary panel said they had no confidence in Dr Preston’s prospects of improving his abilities after serving our a suspension, leaving it no option other than to cancel his registration outright.

The panel said cancellation would have a “significant impact” on Dr Preston, but that it was the “minimum sanction which will ensure the protection of the public”.

Dr Preston’s case is scheduled to return to VCAT for a brief administrative hearing in December.