Suspended mastectomy doctor will operate
Written by on March 11th, 2010 in Latest News.
Dr. Barbara Heartwell, a Windsor, Ont., surgeon suspended after performing unnecessary mastectomies, will return to the operating room.
Dr. Barbara Heartwell, shown here in October 2009, is currently under review by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons but has had her operating privileges reinstated at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor. (CBC)The board of directors at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital has reinstated Heartwell’s operating privileges, CBC News has confirmed.
Heartwell voluntarily stopped operating last month after it became public that she had removed breasts from at least two women who did not have cancer.
She later questioned to have her operating privileges restored.
Seven members of the hospital board met for five hours Wednesday to hear Heartwell and her lawyer make the argument for why the surgeon should be allowed to return to the operating room.
A medical advisory committee established by the hospital had made a recommendation to the board in the first week of March, but the board did not reveal what that recommendation was.
Wednesday’s meeting was closed to the public.
Hôtel-Dieu has scheduled a news conference for Thursday evening.
