Former Patients Provide Damaging Testimony Against Towson Surgeon, St. Joseph Medical Center
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Damaging testimony in the civil lawsuit against a former prominent Baltimore area surgeon.
Dozens of patients are suing Dr. Mark Midei and St. Joseph Medical Center, claiming they underwent surgeries they didn't need.
Those patients who had those heart surgeries came face-to-face with their doctor in court.
Adam May has the latest in the case making national headlines in the medical community.
Wednesday, another doctor took the stand. He said Dr. Midei lied to his patients.
On one side of a Baltimore County courtroom, a diverse group of heart patients, who claim they underwent surgeries they didn't need.
On the other side, Dr. Mark Midei and lawyers for St. Joseph Medical Center, defending almost two dozen stent procedures, operations meant to unclog arteries that sometimes have long-term complications.
Midei is accused of performing the procedures for profit, but he's always maintained he didn't do anything wrong.
"What I did, I would do for myself, my mother, father. [Patients] were treated appropriately with the highest regard for their well-being," Midei said in 2011.
In court, another doctor took the stand, one who reviewed Dr. Midei's work.
Midei said one patient had 95 percent blockage, but the other doctor said that wasn't the case and she didn't need surgery at all.
Plaintiffs are not allowed to speak to the press during the trial, but they spoke to WJZ before the case.
"They said I had a 10 percent and he said I had a 90 percent and needed the stent right away," said plaintiff Vicki Mars. "I think he deserves everything he gets."
Midei lost his job in 2009 and his medical license in 2011.
Many people are expected to testify, and the case could take months.
Midei tried suing St. Joseph for defamation, but the case was thrown out of court last year.
