Drunk Surgeon Arrested In Operating Room

[matcom]

<snip>

The top neurosurgeon at Highland Hospital has been suspended and may be charged with a misdemeanor after what authorities called a drunken altercation with sheriff's deputies in an operating room, officials said Thursday.

Deputies believe Dr. Federico Castro-Moure, 45, was intoxicated during the scuffle and prosecutors may charge him with public drunkenness and interfering with a peace officer.

"The deputies felt that he was behaving in an aggressive manner," Alameda County Sheriff's Capt. William Eskridge said. "He was yelling and put a fist in the face of a deputy in a threatening manner."

Neither Castro-Moure nor his attorney could be reached for comment.

The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Monday when Castro-Moure argued with nurses recommending that he wait several hours for sterile equipment to arrive before operating on a spinal patient.

Although Castro-Moure wanted to operate immediately, other hospital personnel believed the surgery could be delayed because the patient was stable enough to wait, said Dr. David Altman, the hospital's chief medical officer.

In such cases, it is the hospital's policy to wait. But Castro-Moure became angry and physically and verbally abusive, officials said. A nurse summoned deputies to the foyer outside the fifth-floor operating room.

When deputies attempted to intervene, Castro-Moure allegedly shouted obscenities and used his arm and clenched fist to keep them at bay, officials said.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/10/BAG5EHLV451.DTL

[Texasgal]

1. Wow...

Not cool at all. Damn, I wonder how often this happens. I have known a TON of drug addicted doctors/surgeons, just never known of a drunk one on my watch... hmmmm.

[edbermac]

2. Thank God he wasn't doing a circumcision...

:scared: