Charlie Teo allegedly ‘cut into wrong side’ of woman’s brain

A hearing into one of Australia’s most divisive neurosurgeons has heard a shocking alleged admission after a devastating surgery.

A widowed husband has told a hearing into Charlie Teo that the controversial neurosurgeon “cut into the wrong side” of his wife’s brain and that other doctors told him there was “no science” behind a surgery his wife did not wake up from.

The Health Care Complaints Commission’s hearing heard the couple saw Dr Teo in October 2018 after she was told by two other doctors her stage four brain tumour was inoperable and she had 12-18 months to life.

The man, who cannot be named, said they went to Dr Teo because they’d “heard all the good stories in the media”.

Despite there being “tension” between he and his wife over whether they should go ahead with the operation, the man said he ultimately went with his wife’s “desperate” choice to have the tumour removed.

Brain surgeon Charlie Teo faces a five-day hearing. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

He told the hearing Dr Teo explained the tumour was a “bad cancer in a bad location” being stage four and close to the brain stem, but he “sold a lot of hope” they would make it to their six-year-old son’s 18th birthday.

“He said that quite confidently,” the man said, adding Dr Teo said he could not be certain what quality of life his wife would live after the surgery.

“He said ‘quality of life’ is different for everyone and some people are okay with going to dinner in a wheelchair but if he can’t ride his motorbike it wouldn’t be worth it.”

The man said Dr Teo charged $35,000 for the procedure — though he only paid the initial $10,000 due to bank withdrawal limits and had planned to send the rest the next day.

He told the hearing Dr Teo told them there was a 5 per cent risk of “major complications” and a 50 per cent risk of minor ones.

But devastatingly, his wife fell into a coma and died in April 2019.

Anthony Mundine showed his support for Dr Teo.

The commission heard when the man spoke to Dr Teo straight after the surgery, the surgeon was “vague about whether it was a success”.

“He said he’s not sure what happened... he had made it clear that it was disaster – that he didn’t know where the line was and he cut on the other side of the brain and cut the wrong side,” the man said.

“With stage four cancer it’s impossible to know where the line is so there was no science or fact behind anything he said, it was all here say and guesswork. He had no idea how far the tentacles had breached the brain stem – it’s impossible – the science is not there to understand”.

Teo’s defence lawyer Mr Hutchins submitted the couple chose to go ahead with the procedure despite having been told by the two previous doctors the tumour was inoperable.

Steve Waugh (L) says Dr Teo saved his wife’s life. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

He asked the man:

“So it’s your evidence Teo had never told you that this surgery was high risk?” to which the man responded that Dr Teo “did not talk about going too far on the surgery and causing harm”.

“It’s doctor’s oath: cause no harm,” he said.

Steve Waugh and Anthony Mundine were among the dozens of supporters who gathered outside the five-day hearing Monday morning.

Mundine said he has long been friends with Dr Teo, who became divisive due to his work on brain tumours deemed inoperable by other neurosurgeons.

“He’s been blessed with unbelievable skills in the neurosurgeon game and is one of the best in the world,” Mundine said.

“There will be people that hate it … it’s a 50/50 game, you’re gonna win some, you lose some.”

“But I’m here. If you want to kick him, come kick me too”.

Waugh said Dr Teo saved his wife Lynette’s life when he removed a large blood clot from her brain.

“He’s done an amazing job – over 11,000 operations. He takes some of the tough cases no one else wants to,” Waugh said.

“(The reason people don’t like him) could be a little bit of tall poppy syndrome … I guess it makes him a target with some people”.

Dr Teo is barred from working in Australia. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The NSW Medical Council has barred the 65-year-old from operating in Australia since August 2021 without written approval, following an investigation into alleged unsatisfactory workplace conduct.

The current hearing could result in further conditions imposed on his registration.

It follows a joint Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes investigation which revealed Dr Teo had charged some families large amounts of money for operations that injured his patients.

Dr Teo has come under fire for operating on patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) — an inoperable type of tumour found on the brain stem — with one leading American surgeon describing any attempt to operate as “incomprehensible”.

But Dr Teo claims he has been demonised by the Australian media and other practitioners.

The hearing continues.