Charlie Teo’s colleague ‘did not hear’ parts of own crucial witness statement: hearing
A hearing into controversial surgeon Charlie has aired claims about two crucial minutes before a surgery which left a woman in a coma.
Two minutes could undo one of Australia’s most recognisable surgeons, controversial neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo.
That’s the space of time being probed during a hearing into the divisive surgeon in Sydney today as the Health Care Commission aims to get to the bottom of what happened in the moments before a surgery that left one of Dr Teo’s patients in a coma.
On Tuesday, Dr Teo’s colleague Dr Amit Goyal admitted he’d be “guessing” how much of a crucial witness statement he signed was what he actually heard first-hand.
The hearing is focusing on the consent process between the patient and Dr Teo ahead of the risky brain surgery.
It heard Dr Amit Goyal was present for part of the consent process before Dr Teo operated on the patient.
The woman fell into the coma after the surgery to remove a tumour, which two other doctors had deemed inoperable, and died months later.
Just how long Dr Goyal was in Dr Teo’s company during the consent process – and exactly what he heard – has been dissected on day two of the commission’s hearing.
Dr Goyal was grilled by the HCCC’s counsel Kate Richardson SC about his first witness statement signed 11 February 2020.
Dr Goyal agreed he wrote he had only been in the room for “two-to-three minutes” with Dr Teo before the surgery and only heard about one risk – that his wife would end up in a vegetative state.
But in an amended version of that statement signed more than two years later, Dr Goyal had changed his version of recollected events, claiming that Dr Teo had actually explained a far greater list of risks.
Ms Richardson asked him whether Dr Teo could have warned of the further risks in the two-to-three minutes Dr Goyal was supposedly in the room, to which Dr Goyal said: “no”.
She also pointed out the change of wording around the likelihood of significant risks.
In an explanation, Dr Goyal told the hearing part of what was written in the amended statement was not what he actually heard Dr Teo say to the patient and her wife before the surgery.
He said Dr Teo had told him he’d had those discussions with the patient when Dr Goyal was not in the room.
Ms Richardson asked: “Are you suggesting there are parts of this witness statement you did not hear Dr Teo say to the patient?”
Dr Goyal answered: “Yes,” though he added he could not remember which parts were what he heard and which parts were relayed to him by Dr Teo.
“You would be guessing which parts were said to you,” Ms Richardson asked, and Dr Goyal said: “yes”.
Ms Richardson suggested his memory was partly “contaminated” by Dr Teo’s lawyers, since he did not reach out to make the amendments himself but only did so after being contacted by Dr Teo’s lawyers.
Dr Goyal rejected that submission.
Asked if he was “a supporter” of Dr Teo given he signed a letter backing him which was published in the media, Dr Goyal said: “yes”.
Dr Teo was present in the hearing room on Monday and Tuesday, with a mostly stone-faced expression.
The second day was much quieter in attendance, after Monday saw Anthony Mundine and Steve Waugh among the dozens of supporters turn up.
Mundine told news.com.au: “if you want to kick him, come kick me too” and the Waugh praised Teo for saving his wife Lynette’s life.
The Health Care Complaints Commission’s five-day hearing is investigating several complaints of unsatisfactory conduct on behalf of Teo, though the exact number has not been put before the commission.
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.
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”.
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But Dr Teo claims he has been demonised by the Australian media and other practitioners.
The first day hearing from a second witness who said when her mother did not wake up from surgery, Dr Teo told another nurse to “put her in a bloody chair — tie her up if you need to”.
The hearing 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.