Neurosurgeon slams colleagues for ‘professional jealousy’

An Australian neurosurgeon says the “professional jealousy” of his colleagues has created a “gang warfare” situation.

Polarising neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo says he has been stopped from operating in Australia due to the “professional jealousy” and “gang warfare” like behaviour of other colleagues.

Dr Teo, one of Australia’s most high-profile brain surgeons, who has been referred to as a “miracle worker”, has not been able to operate in his own country since last year.

Strict conditions were placed on him by the NSW medical regulator following concerns from colleagues his practices were a risk to the public.

Brain surgeon Charlie Teo said ‘professional jealousy’ from colleagues was preventing him from operating in Australia. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Under the conditions, Dr Teo was banned from performing high-risk surgeries without written approval from a second independent neurosurgeon.

He described his current situation as “desperate”, “sad” and “wrong”.

“It at all started from nameless faceless, cowardly people who just went to the media, made all these allegations and made up stories about me to try and destroy my reputation,” Dr Teo told 2GB on Monday.

“If I’m really as bad a surgeon as they say I am … come out and say it.

“I mean, it‘s not as if I haven’t published; the publications are out there showing that the results from my surgery are world’s best.

“There are certain types of tumours that I can do that no else can do and they come from all around the world for me to operate on them.”

Dr Teo said the Medical Council of Australia “actually haven‘t been too bad” to deal with. Where he has run into issues is with getting approval from a second independent neurosurgeon.

Dr Charlie Teo said false assertions had been made about his practices and reputation. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Dr Teo accused members of his profession of conspiring against him to prevent him from operating in Australia.

“The Medical Council of Australia said ‘we‘re going to lump category C restrictions on him’, which means that I have to get the permission of someone else to do these cases,” he said.

“But I can still work as an independent surgeon, so I still have my licence.

“But unfortunately, all the neurosurgeons and other doctors are ganging up and not allowing me to operate at various hospitals.

“I’m happy to operate in a public hospital, no charge, just to save these kids’ lives and no one will let me in. It’s sort of gang warfare.”

Dr Teo said he has offered his services to various hospitals, who would have been thrilled to have him.

But he was later blocked by their respective medical boards, which are made up of neurosurgeons in those hospitals.

“The executives of the hospitals have given me credentials; they’ve given me the big tick,” he said.

“Then they go to the medical board … and it’s them going ‘no, we don’t want him here’.

“I don’t know how they can come out and say it’s not based on professional jealousy. It’s purely based on professional jealousy.”

Dr Charlie Teo operating on a patient.

In August 2021, the Medical Council of NSW said Dr Teo would be required to show he had explained the risks associated with any procedure to the patient and obtained informed financial consent after it emerged patients were crowdsourcing in excess of $120,000 for operations.

At the time, Dr Teo said he accepted the council’s rulings.

“I feel extremely privileged to have helped more than 11,000 patients, both here and overseas, over the last 35 years in their journeys with all types of brain tumours,” he said.

The restrictions will remain in place until he faces a hearing later this year.

During these restrictions, Dr Teo has been teaching, lecturing and performing pro bono overseas over the last 15 months.

He, alongside other neurosurgeons, operated on Billy Baldwin at the hospital Universitario Fundacion Jimenez Diax in July this year.