Patient's death, questions about IV bags, leads to suspension of anesthesiologist's license
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Updated Sep. 9: TMB suspends Richardson physician.
On Friday evening, CBS 11 learned the Texas Medical Board temporarily suspended the Texas medical license of Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz, Jr., M.D. after receiving information from federal law enforcement in an ongoing investigation involving Ortiz.
In a press release, the Board said it was determined that Ortiz' continuation of medicine "poses a continuing threat to public welfare." The suspension is effective immediately and will remain in place until the Board takes further action.
According to court documents, the Texas Medical Board was informed that Ortiz is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation relating to "serious cardiac complications and one patient's death" connected with his time at Baylor Scott & White Surgicare North Dallas facility from May through September of this year where he worked as an anesthesiologist.
Documents say Ortiz was seen on surveillance footage in the facility depositing single IV bags into what's known as a warmer in the hall outside operating rooms. A warmer is used to keep the saline fluids inside the IV bags at certain temperatures. Shortly after he deposited the IV bags in the warmer, according to documents, a patient would suffer a serious complication.
CBS 11 has reached out to both Baylor Scott & White and Ortiz. Baylor Scott & White released the following statement: "The safety of those we serve remains our priority. We will continue to limit our comments as we support authorities in their investigation."
Ortiz told CBS 11 "I'm just devastated," and that he didn't do anything.
Original story: More patients are coming forward questioning what may have happened to them at a local hospital, according to a Dallas attorney.
Bruce Steckler said he's been contacted by four patients who say they went into cardiac arrest during routine procedures at Baylor Scott & White Surgicare North Dallas off Coit Road.
The facility said it contacted authorities after discovering an IV bag which may have been compromised. A spokesperson told the I-Team they began contacting recent patients.
Steckler said the parents of an 18-year-old boy contacted him. Steckler sent the I-Team a picture of the young man hours after he walked into the North Texas surgery center for a routine rhinoplasty procedure.
In the photo, the boy is on a ventilator, in ICU, at another hospital.
His parents told the I-Team, "The idea we could take our healthy, vibrant 18-year-old in for a routine surgery, and 90 minutes in be told that he had 50/50 odds of survival is nightmarish." They said he was taken to another medical center nearby where he recovered five days later.
Steckler said investigators told the parents their son may have received a compromised IV bag. Authorities have not confirmed this to the I-Team.
Since the story on the 18-year-old broke, Steckler told the I-Team three more patients have also contacted him.
Steckler said they are all under the age of 25. They were all healthy. They went into Baylor Scott & White Surgicare for routine procedures expecting to go home the same day.
Instead, Steckler said each one went into distress on the operating table and suffered cardiac arrests. He said all the adverse events occurred between May and August of this year.
Steckler has not publicly identified the other patients. He said they all survived.
"It's my hope, naturally, that the FDA, US Attorney's office, whoever's investigating, gets to the bottom of what happened," Steckler said. "It's also my hope that the hospital does a serious evaluation of what occurred and what checks and balances existed or did not exist."
Dallas police and the FDA are investigating the case. Neither has commented to CBS 11.
Statement from Baylor Scott & White Surgicare:
Surgicare North Dallas contacted law enforcement after discovering that an IV bag appeared to have been compromised. On the same day, the facility elected to pause its operations. The facility remains closed while we focus on assisting investigators and communicating with patients. We have created a dedicated phone line at 214-818-2794. There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of our patients.