Anesthesiologist testifies about medical emergency in day 4 of Ortiz trial: "Clinically, nothing made sense"
DALLAS -- The criminal trial of anesthesiologist Raynaldo Ortiz continued in Dallas federal court Thursday morning with another anesthesiologist taking the witness stand.
Dr. Saad Hussain was involved in the surgery of an 18-year-old patient who suffered a medical emergency on August 24, 2022, at Baylor Scott & White Surgicare North Dallas. The patient is the youngest of the alleged victims in the case.
Hussain told the jury that immediately after the new IV bag was started, the 18-year-old's heart rate "almost tripled." He testified that he had never experienced anything like what happened, recalling that he thought "nothing is making sense."
Hussain testified that he rode with the team in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, calling it emotional and scary.
Hussein told the jury once he returned to the surgery center, he attended a meeting in the main office. Inside, three IV bags were on the desk. Hussain said one of the bags had a needle mark, which didn't make sense.
Prosecutors laid out some of their most compelling evidence Thursday afternoon, showing never-before-seen surveillance video of Ortiz filling multiple syringes in the preop area of the surgical care center. Surgeon Dr. Chad Marsden called the behavior bizarre, saying Ortiz was adding medications and mixing medications From what appeared to be unlabeled vials.
The video played out in silence, as people in the gallery shook their heads, some of them becoming visibly emotional. Prosecutors played a series of videos that they said showed Ortiz putting the syringes inside his front chest pocket, pulling an IV bag from the warmer, and into an operating room. They showed a video that shows him afterward, leaving that operating room, and putting an IV bag into the warmer. The prosecution noted that the large syringes were no longer visible in Ortiz's pocket.
The defense tried to downplay the video, asking Marsden if there was a rule against filling syringes in the preop area. He said no. Defense attorney Marti Morgan also replayed a video which she said showed that Ortiz was never in the operating room alone while carrying the syringes.
The fourth and final patient named in the complaint against Ortiz, took the stand Thursday afternoon.
Jimmy Eller was 78 years old when he went in for surgery on his wrist in August 2022. He told the jury up until that point he was very active and healthy, walking at least two miles a day. He had just returned from a cruise to Norway where he had fallen and shattered his wrist. Eller told the jury he expected to go home the same day as the surgery, instead, he spent four or five nights in the ICU and one month in assisted living.
"I've had a lot of problems," Eller told the jury when asked about his health since the surgery.
During cross-examination, Eller was asked questions about his previous heart procedure, and other surgeries he has had over the years. His orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Duc Vo testified next.
According to Vo, the surgery went fine until near the end when Ellers heart rate and blood pressure became extremely high. Ellers was taken to the ER while Vo said, "I was just trying to figure out what had gone wrong."
