US: Dentist charged in death of patient getting 20 teeth pulled

[webfact]

Dentist charged in death of patient getting 20 teeth pulled
By DAVE COLLINS

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A dentist has been charged in the death of a patient who became unresponsive while having 20 teeth pulled and several implants installed.

Rashmi Patel turned himself in Tuesday at the Enfield Police Department and was charged with a misdemeanor count of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence, police said. Patel has offices in Enfield and Torrington.

The charges came a year after Patel's patient Judith Gan died at a hospital on Feb. 17, 2014. State dental regulators concluded that Patel failed to adequately respond when Gan's oxygen levels dropped dangerously low as she was consciously sedated in the middle of the tooth extraction and implant procedures in his Enfield office that day.

Patel, who posted $25,000 bail, has denied any wrongdoing in his treatment of Gan.

"Dr. Patel disputes the charges and urges that the charges be dropped," his attorney Paul Knag said in a statement Wednesday.

Gan's death and other incidents prompted the State Dental Commission in December to suspend Patel's license pending a months-long review of his practice and permanently ban him from performing conscious sedation.

But, Krag said, the commission did not revoke Patel's license.

"In the Dental Commission proceeding, multiple expert witnesses testified that Dr. Patel followed the standard of care," Krag said. "The state's seeking of criminal charges is contrary to this evidence and inconsistent with the decision of the Commission not to revoke his license."

The commission said in a report that Patel "ignored" signs that Gan, of Ellington, was in distress, including the drop in her oxygen saturation, changes in the color of her face and hands and wheezing and gurgling sounds. The commission said Patel, who lives in Suffield, also ignored warnings from his dental assistants that Gan was in danger and continued with the procedures.

When one of Patel's assistants yelled that Gan was "flat lining," Patel tried to revive Gan while the assistant called 911, according to the Dental Commission's report. Gan, 64, was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The commission also found that Patel should not have attempted to perform so many procedures on Gan in one office visit given that her medical history included a heart attack six months before the visit, two strokes within the last two years and medication that could have affected her response to the sedation.

Patel also violated care standards in December 2013 when another patient under conscious sedation to have teeth extracted inhaled a piece of gauze called a throat pack, which was designed to protect him from swallowing foreign objects, the commission found. The patient began flailing, his blood pressure spiked and he was rushed to a hospital but recovered.

A lawyer for Gan's husband has said a lawsuit against Patel is planned.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-02-19

[bendejo]

A 64 year old woman getting 20 teeth pulled, plus implants, in one sitting?

Sounds like a lot of stress to put the body through.

May be no law against it, but aren't doctors supposed to be cautious of these things?

Sounds like a "no problem!" incident.

[zydeco]

Is this someone else doing a job that Americans refuse to do?

[rotary]

Outsourcing from Dell Phone help to Dentist to the Whitehouse

[cyrusgreat]

This procdure is don routinely and safely on a patient who is is ASA 1 ASA 2. Eventhough the guidlines suggest that no elective surgery should be done for patients whom they have had hear attacks or stroke within 6 months, and it looks like this was past 6 months, the patient was a high risk patient and unfortunately she eneded up dying. Now the whole world can blame the dentist but there is always risk involved with any medical procdure... hopefully the print out( if available) of her SPO2 level will show if this was being ingnored by the dentist or for some other reason, he blood oxygen dropped rapidly. It is always best for all of these general anesthetic procdures, a separate anesthesiologits is used. In US dentists are traing to do a lot of stuff compared to Thaialand and is not always the best solution as far as the patient's safety is concerend.

May she rest in peace and sending the dentist love, and healing light. A horrible situation for all involved.

[cyrusgreat]

Why don't you look up definition of " First Degree" murder before just putting it out there....

murder in the first degree

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Pulling 1 or 2 at a sitting seems reasonable,

Pulling 20 at once starts to look negligent.

[F430murci]

Pulling 1 or 2 at a sitting seems reasonable,

Pulling 20 at once starts to look negligent.

This seems extremely excessive. I defended a dentist in a dental malpractice case in early 2000 relating to complications from too many extractions in one sitting. No believe that was only 8 or 10.

This guy was cleat focusing on profits over patient safety.

[peterb17]

The obsession with chasing eternal youth- fabulous teeth, face lifts , Botox etc in America does not help- but twenty teeth? The cost of all those implants must have astronomic ?

[gk10002000]

I like that they called 911, but I would expect a DDS, doctor of dental surgery to be well versed and knowledgeable in life saving and intervention techniques and have all the required equipment, tracheotomy, defibs etc. on hand and ready to be used. If he didn't have any of this, then I would not be having surgery of this magnitude in his little isolated dental office

[NeverSure]

Pulling 1 or 2 at a sitting seems reasonable,

Pulling 20 at once starts to look negligent.

This seems extremely excessive. I defended a dentist in a dental malpractice case in early 2000 relating to complications from too many extractions in one sitting. No believe that was only 8 or 10.

This guy was cleat focusing on profits over patient safety.

That is the worst writing I've ever seen from an attorney. The Chiang must taste exceptionally good today.

(But I do agree with you.)

[NeverSure]

It used to be that when people got old and had serious dental problems they had their teeth pulled and got dentures. Some still do.

Those who can afford it might opt for implants. Occasionally it is for cosmetics but at that age and health, who knows?

I am totally opposed to letting foreigners come into the country and practice medicine. It is widespread and especially from India. They may be good doctors but they are from a different culture and have probably never seen so much money before. 20 teeth pulled "and several implants" in one session? Ouch.

[rabid old goat]

must have changed his fore names https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayant_Patel

[F430murci]

Pulling 1 or 2 at a sitting seems reasonable,

Pulling 20 at once starts to look negligent.

This seems extremely excessive. I defended a dentist in a dental malpractice case in early 2000 relating to complications from too many extractions in one sitting. No believe that was only 8 or 10.

This guy was cleat focusing on profits over patient safety.

That is the worst writing I've ever seen from an attorney. The Chiang must taste exceptionally good today.

(But I do agree with you.)

Lol, that was pretty dang bad. iPhone, early morning and shitty eye sight at 47 . . . Still in denial about need for reading glasses, but dang if my close up vision has not gone to heck in a hurry the last couple of years. I will definitely not go to a Dr. Patel for LASIK.

[cup-O-coffee]

I would have to agree with the other posters about the quantity in one sitting. In all my years, and all the people I've known who have had this kind of dental work done (even for an entire upper row) their dentista always spread the procedure out over several months.

This man is going to have a very hard time explaining this, and I think the prosecution will get him on this one single issue.

My take is that he allowed misjudgment to overcome common sense and safety towards a human life under his immediate care. Greed could be a factor, but that will be something the accused will have to admit to once every excuse is stripped away.

[neverdie]

Ouch.

Sounds like a torture procedure. Terrible.

[jdinasia]

a person is dead thru anothers negligence,

Rashmi Patel has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence.

murder, death, victim is dead, get a life, apologist~~~~~~~~~~

a·pol·o·gist

əˈpäləjəst/

noun

noun: apologist; plural noun: apologists

a person who offers an argument in defense of something controversial.

Yet by no definition, murder. Much less first degree murder. Edited February 20, 2015 by jdinasia

[cyrusgreat]

Everyone who is posting here as no clue about what happned and are balming the dentist. He may be at blame if he did not have the right equipment to revive the patient which I truly doubt. Patient never die from 20 or 32 extractions, This is very routine procedure and as a trained US dental surgeon and now a consultant and a trainer for a major dental group in Thailand, with over 3000 similar cases succesfully performed, I can tell you this is a very routine procdure. Patients don't die because of the number of extractions but because of 1) Anesthesia complications 2) Other factors such as cardiac arrest that has nothing to do with the extraction or the dentist, for that matter, patient could have a rectal exam and go to cardiac arrest. Many dental procedures are such that you have to remove all of the teeth at once and there is no other way around it, plus you dont't expose a patient to 10-20 surgeries like some comments here as the dentist should have pulled 1-2 teeth at a time. This has nothing to do with profit or amount of money, but it has to do with the fact that the patient's new prosthetic can only be placed and the patient's bite maintained when all of the teeth are extracted at once. The only thing that needs to be considered in this case is that

1) Did the dentist have the right equipment on hand

2) Was the dentist trained and certified to have the patient undergo deep sedation?

3) Why the dentist did not immediately cease operation when the patient's Oxygen level dropped below 90 % and administer oxygen?

The dentist could have been negligent but first degree murder, come on now......

And now you know, why we charge so much, it is not just because we want to drive a facny car and have away too much overhead but all the liabilities and stress we go through with all patients who most have no clue of how difficult and stressful it is to work inside of a dark round hole as big as a baseball and make them all happy at the the end. Every surgery comes with risk and potential complications such as death and that is why it is all written out on the consent forms.

Sending the dentist and the deceased patient prayer and love and I hope you all do the same.

[trogers]

Pulling 1 or 2 at a sitting seems reasonable,

Pulling 20 at once starts to look negligent.

This seems extremely excessive. I defended a dentist in a dental malpractice case in early 2000 relating to complications from too many extractions in one sitting. No believe that was only 8 or 10.

This guy was cleat focusing on profits over patient safety.

Perhaps business has been slow and rent is overdue.

[Berkshire]

Everyone who is posting here as no clue about what happned and are balming the dentist. He may be at blame if he did not have the right equipment to revive the patient which I truly doubt. Patient never die from 20 or 32 extractions, This is very routine procedure and as a trained US dental surgeon and now a consultant and a trainer for a major dental group in Thailand, with over 3000 similar cases succesfully performed, I can tell you this is a very routine procdure. Patients don't die because of the number of extractions but because of 1) Anesthesia complications 2) Other factors such as cardiac arrest that has nothing to do with the extraction or the dentist, for that matter, patient could have a rectal exam and go to cardiac arrest. Many dental procedures are such that you have to remove all of the teeth at once and there is no other way around it, plus you dont't expose a patient to 10-20 surgeries like some comments here as the dentist should have pulled 1-2 teeth at a time. This has nothing to do with profit or amount of money, but it has to do with the fact that the patient's new prosthetic can only be placed and the patient's bite maintained when all of the teeth are extracted at once. The only thing that needs to be considered in this case is that

1) Did the dentist have the right equipment on hand

2) Was the dentist trained and certified to have the patient undergo deep sedation?

3) Why the dentist did not immediately cease operation when the patient's Oxygen level dropped below 90 % and administer oxygen?

The dentist could have been negligent but first degree murder, come on now......

And now you know, why we charge so much, it is not just because we want to drive a facny car and have away too much overhead but all the liabilities and stress we go through with all patients who most have no clue of how difficult and stressful it is to work inside of a dark round hole as big as a baseball and make them all happy at the the end. Every surgery comes with risk and potential complications such as death and that is why it is all written out on the consent forms.

Sending the dentist and the deceased patient prayer and love and I hope you all do the same.

It was all good until you brought up the rectal exam.

But seriously, well said. Clearly, you know what you're talking about.

[MyFriend You]

Pulling 1 or 2 at a sitting seems reasonable,

Pulling 20 at once starts to look negligent.

I had eight teeth pulled at once for my bridge & implant - three weeks later, returned for the rest, but mine were done with local annestetic......... RIP to the lady and hope he loses his license at minimum and sent back to India where he came from for even suggesting to an elderly persn to have twenty teet pulled at once.

[MyFriend You]

Everyone who is posting here as no clue about what happned and are balming the dentist. He may be at blame if he did not have the right equipment to revive the patient which I truly doubt. Patient never die from 20 or 32 extractions, This is very routine procedure and as a trained US dental surgeon and now a consultant and a trainer for a major dental group in Thailand, with over 3000 similar cases succesfully performed, I can tell you this is a very routine procdure. Patients don't die because of the number of extractions but because of 1) Anesthesia complications 2) Other factors such as cardiac arrest that has nothing to do with the extraction or the dentist, for that matter, patient could have a rectal exam and go to cardiac arrest. Many dental procedures are such that you have to remove all of the teeth at once and there is no other way around it, plus you dont't expose a patient to 10-20 surgeries like some comments here as the dentist should have pulled 1-2 teeth at a time. This has nothing to do with profit or amount of money, but it has to do with the fact that the patient's new prosthetic can only be placed and the patient's bite maintained when all of the teeth are extracted at once. The only thing that needs to be considered in this case is that

1) Did the dentist have the right equipment on hand

2) Was the dentist trained and certified to have the patient undergo deep sedation?

3) Why the dentist did not immediately cease operation when the patient's Oxygen level dropped below 90 % and administer oxygen?

The dentist could have been negligent but first degree murder, come on now......

And now you know, why we charge so much, it is not just because we want to drive a facny car and have away too much overhead but all the liabilities and stress we go through with all patients who most have no clue of how difficult and stressful it is to work inside of a dark round hole as big as a baseball and make them all happy at the the end. Every surgery comes with risk and potential complications such as death and that is why it is all written out on the consent forms.

Sending the dentist and the deceased patient prayer and love and I hope you all do the same.

Okay I agree with you - not murder - man slaughter in the first degree, he'll be out in 18 - 24 years in the State of Connecticut. Good for him, he beat the Murder charge.

[Doc46]

Is this dentist Dr Patel by any chance related to the infamous D Patel (Dr Death) from QLD Australia Whom they say has 13 death's to his name from negligence,,,,Doctors from India,,,,bad reputation,

[Thongkorn]

Imagine how this poor woman would eat, 20 teeth at one time to much strain on the body at her age, But maybe he advised against it and she wanted him to do the procedure,