SACRAMENTO, California (AP) – The California Medical Board said it would examine a plastic surgeon who appeared in a video conference for his traffic violation lawsuit during his surgery.
The Sacramento Bee reports Dr. Scott Green appeared before his trial in Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday, virtually held because of the coronavirus pandemic, from an operating room. He was dressed in surgical scrubs with a patient undergoing the procedure just out of sight; the beeps of medical equipment can be heard in the background.
Hello, Mr. Green? Hi. Are you available for a trial period? asked a clerk in court when an officer called to appear at trial raised her eyebrows. “Looks like you’re in an operating room now?”
“Yes, sir,” Green replied. ‘Yes, I am now in an operating theater. Yes, I am available for a trial period. Go straight ahead.”
The clerk reminded Green that the proceedings were live stream because traffic tests are required by law to be open to the public, and Green said he understood. He seemed to continue working with his head down as he waited for Commissioner Gary Link to enter the room.
When Link appeared and saw the doctor on the screen, the judge was hesitant to continue the trial over concerns about the patient’s well-being.
“I have another surgeon here who does the surgery with me, so I can stand here and have them do the surgery too,” Green said.
The judge said he did not consider it appropriate to go to court under the circumstances. He told Green that he would rather set a new date for the trial “if you are not actively involved or not participating in a patient’s needs.”
Green apologized.
“Sometimes surgery doesn’t always go the way it does,” he said before the judge interrupted him.
“It happens. We want to keep people healthy, we want to keep them alive. That’s important,” Link said.
The board said it would investigate the incident, saying it “expects doctors to follow the standard of care in treating their patients.”
A call to ask for comment from Green was not answered.