This was published 8 months ago
Amputee claims Al Muderis ‘sold’ her surgery at conference meeting
By Caroline Schelle
An amputee said prominent orthopaedic surgeon Munjed Al Muderis convinced her at a medical conference to have an operation to help her with a prosthetic limb.
Carol Todd, who is in her 70s, told the Federal Court on Monday that her leg was amputated below the knee when she was a baby, and she used a prosthesis from the age of two.
But she had experienced discomfort, shooting pain and skin irritation as result of the prosthesis when she agreed to undergo osseointegration surgery with Al Muderis in 2014.
Todd told the court she understood from her research about the risk of infection, that the surgery might not work and that more of her stump could be removed. But she proceeded with the surgery because of what she thought it could offer her.
“Munjed sold it so well, when we went to the meeting ... we had photos and of him in the operating room and all that sort of jazz,” Todd said of a conference she attended in 2013.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this is a new way of life for me’, that I could have a better life.”
But, the court heard, after the surgery nurses told Todd her bone where the titanium rod was placed had broken, and screws were placed around the split. Todd said that since the surgery she had “infections with it all the time” that sometimes required hospitalisation.
Al Muderis is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes over stories published in 2022, which he claims convey the defamatory imputation that he performed osseointegration surgery negligently and used high-pressure sales tactics, among other allegations.
Osseointegration involves inserting titanium pins into the residual bone of an amputee, which allows prosthetic limbs to be connected.
Nine, the owner of the media outlets, is seeking to rely on a range of defences, including a new public interest defence, truth and honest opinion.
Al Muderis’ barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, SC, on Monday questioned Todd about the level of research she and her husband, a retired prosthetist, did before the operation.
The court heard Todd attended a conference at the Royal Brisbane Hospital in 2013 where she saw Al Muderis speak about the surgery.
Chrysanthou asked Todd whether Al Muderis had explained at the conference that it was a relatively new surgery and doctors didn’t know “everything about it”.
Todd replied: “I don’t remember him saying it was a new surgery or anything like that … he virtually sold it to ya … I’m sorry, but he did, he came over to me and my husband that – it was like – a new life.”
She said there was a presentation at the conference, and she agreed that the doctor explained the mobility benefits of the surgery and that it could improve skin irritation.
Todd, who became emotional during her evidence, said she was excited about the surgery because she thought it was the “best thing for me”.
“[Despite] all the rubbing and all that ... for my husband because he’s got Parkinson’s and I have to look after him and I don’t have time to sit down and work out what my pain is doing,” she said.
“This is what I don’t understand what everybody is trying to do to me, I’m not one to whinge and carry on, I just get on with my life whether I’m in pain or not, I just keep going.”
Chrysanthou also questioned the Queensland woman about how she came to be involved in stories subsequently published about Al Muderis, and whether other surgeons persuaded her to be involved.
Todd said she didn’t recall giving permission for her mobile number and name to be sent to journalist Charlotte Grieve, or anyone encouraging her to speak with her.
But she did tell the court she remembered getting a call from the journalist.
“At the time I said, ‘No, I don’t want to get involved in anything like this’, and … then I had a thought about it and I thought, ‘Oh well, I’ve got nothing to lose because I’ll tell the truth’, so I went ahead with it.”
Another former patient, Anthony Marlborough, said Al Muderis performed a knee and hip replacement on his right side.
In his affidavit, the 75-year-old wrote that he saw his GP because his right knee was “playing up” and got a referral to see Al Muderis. He had a brief consultation where the surgeon didn’t take his medical history.
Under cross-examination, Marlborough said he never went to see Al Muderis about both knees, contradicting the surgeon’s previous evidence in the trial.
“I never went for both knees at any stage, I went to see about my right knee … I went to see about the hip at a later date because I started having problems with my knee, and it was all coming from what happened with my knee operation,” Marlborough said.
Marlborough was asked whether Al Muderis told him he might need surgery but recommended he exhaust other measures, such as steroid injections, to relieve his knee pain.
“I don’t know where this is coming from, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t believe anything he said,” the NSW man responded.
Marlborough was also asked about books he claimed he saw in Al Muderis’ office, which he said in his affidavit were full of the surgeon’s “life story and what a wonderful bloke he must be”.
Chrysanthou put it to Marlborough there weren’t any books like that in Al Muderis’ office in 2014, and that the witness made it up.
“Cut it out … I’m telling you it’s true,” Marlborough responded.
The case continues on Tuesday.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.