Health & Medicine

Plastic Surgeon Oleg Davie Faces Murder Charges after Performing Liposuction on Heart Transplant Patient

Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Mar 28, 2013 10:36 PM EDT

A New York doctor was indicted for recklessly performing liposuction on a woman who later died.

District Attorney Charles Hynes said today that he charged Dr. Oleg Davie, 51, with manslaughter and falsifying documents, according to The New York Post.

The patient had undergone heart transplant surgery prior to the procedure, which scientists say is something that should have barred Davie from going through with the operation.

The patient, Isel Pineda, had a heart transplant in 2004. Eight years later, Pineda, 51, came to Dr. Davie's Park Avenue office for a consultation, where she filled out a form about her medical history, prosecutors said.

Davie performed the liposuction in May of 2012, and she went into cardiac arrest and collapsed in his office. She died shortly after being rushed to Coney Island Hospital, according to reports.

"Any medical professional would clearly know if a patient has previously had heart transplant surgery because of the obvious scar on the chest," Hynes said. "And doctors are well aware of the fact that they are discouraged from performing liposuction and similar procedures on patients with heart disease."

After the death, Davie provided a medical history form to the state Department of Health that had no mention of her heart transplant, Hynes alleged, but paperwork from the consultation, noting the transplant, was found in Pineda's purse.

Davie faces a maximum of 34 years in prison, according to the D.A.'s office.

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