Atiq Durrani, MD, was accused by his patients of performing unnecessary and unsatisfactory surgeries at The Centers for Advanced Spine Technologies in Cincinnati, WLWT 5 report.
The spine surgeon denied any wrongdoing and shut down allegations of misconduct. However, in separate dispositions, Dr. Durrani's colleagues spoke about their experiences working alongside him, noting something was wrong.
Here are five insights:
1. Nael Shanti, MD, was another spine surgeon at CAST. He was hired under the impression of becoming a partner with Dr. Durrani; however, during his three years of employment no partnership was made.
2. Dr. Shanti testified as part of the civil lawsuit filed by Dr. Durrani's patients. He noted Dr. Durrani often arrived late for cases and began new cases without finishing the case prior.
Dr. Durrani is also accused of operating on multiple patients at the same time. Dr. Shanti also testified Dr. Durrani would allegedly not let him be part of a patient's initial or follow up exams and consultations.
3. Zeeshan Tayeb, MD, was a pain management specialist at Dr. Durrani's private practice. He recalled one time when Dr. Durrani was allegedly performing the wrong surgery on a patient. With Dr. Durrani allegedly operating on a portion of their patient's spine that was not injured.
However, when concerns of Dr. Durrani's behavior were brought up, he was met with apprehension. Physical therapist Jeff Angeline noted when he went to Dr. Durrani with concerns, Dr. Durrani left the physical therapist a note to no longer attend rounds.
4. A few months before Dr. Durrani was arrested, both Dr. Shanti and Dr. Tayeb left. They both felt they were used by Dr. Durrani. The federal indictment against Dr. Durrani alleges the surgeon gained significant profits by convincing patients to undergo medically unnecessary spine surgeries.
In the criminal complaint filed, Dr. Durrani is alleged of earning $12 million from Medicare between 2010 and 2013.
5. Along with treating fellow surgeons and staff poorly, another staff member alleges Dr. Durrani used derogatory language toward women and minorities. When the staff member reported the harassment, Dr. Durrani was reprimanded; however, went back to using the inappropriate language shortly after.