Rap For Leading Eye Doctor
The Age
Friday February 9, 2001
A prominent Melbourne laser eye surgeon yesterday was found to have been negligent in his treatment of a severely long-sighted woman.
In giving Dr Mark Medownick a reprimand, the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria, said the specialist failed to take down a complete patient history from a 52-year-old patient, Giavanna Savy, that would have shown her poor vision was because of congenital defects, that was unlikely to be fixed by the proposed corrective surgery.
Board chairwoman Dr Joanna Flynn said Dr Medownick was told Mrs Savy had previously been driving a car and assumed her eyesight had therefore been satisfactory to hold a licence. Based on such errors, Dr Medownick performed two operations that he otherwise would not have performed.
It was alleged that Dr Medownick told Mrs Savy that he could improve her vision to 98per cent of normal sight.
Mrs Savy complained to the board when her sight was only marginally improved.
Dr Flynn said Dr Medownick's failure to adequately question Mrs Savy about her previous treatments with other specialists was the ``genesis of all the allegations in this matter".
The board found that Dr Medownick had engaged in serious unprofessional conduct but that he had not intentionally or recklessly failed in his professional conduct and he had not engaged in professional misconduct.
The board ordered that Dr Medownick, of the Epworth Eye Centre, face an audit of his practice procedures in six months to ensure the shortcomings had been corrected.
--with AAP
© 2001 The Age