Dr Nath top doctor?

[Beata]

Hi,

Does Dr Nath still perform surgeries on childrens with brachial plexus?

I have just read this article:

Board says ‘top doctor' isn't one
By RICK CASEY Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 13, 2009, 8:33PM

He's been cited by a book called America's Top Doctors.
He was written up in People magazine and featured on CNN in 2007 for performing, for free, complex nerve-bypass surgery to restore movement to the arm of an Iraqi infant injured during birth when a gunfight forced an emergency delivery at home.
He received international publicity for working with a urologist in Houston on a nerve transplant process to restore sexual function after prostate operations.
And he received a patent for a new approach to treat nerve injuries that, he says, “ensures a much better outcome for the patient, including less recovery time and less opportunity for complications from surgery.”
And now, Dr. Rahul Nath has been accused by the Texas Medical Board of performing surgeries on 20 babies and children that were not justified by the medical records of the patients.
The Medical Board, which is charged with policing the state's doctors, accused Nath of “unprofessional or dishonorable conduct that is likely to deceive or defraud the public or injure the public.”
Nath is based in Houston but travels widely throughout the United States and elsewhere to do surgery on babies who suffer from “brachial plexus palsy.”
The condition involves injury to the nerves in the shoulder and arm when a baby becomes stuck during surgery and must be extracted with force. It sometimes leads to disfiguring and very limited mobility of the arms and shoulders.
It has been a lucrative practice for Nath, who, according to records in an unrelated lawsuit, paid $8.295 million ($5.7 million in cash) several years ago for a house in Shadyside, an exclusive, gated neighborhood abutting Rice University.
After an investigation and an attempt to reach an agreed sanction, the Medical Board filed a formal complaint regarding 20 children on whom Nath performed surgery between 2002 and 2005. Among the allegations are these:
• Nath used procedures that were experimental at the time, but he told the families and insurance companies his was the only method for treating the injuries.
• He did his own MRI scans before each surgery. “The quality of the images from the MRI is poor and most of the MRI exams are incomplete,” the board claims. “The descriptions in Respondent's MRI reports are inaccurate and, in some cases, Respondent describes pathology that cannot possibly be seen.”
• Nath “inappropriately billed” patients for the taking the MRI scans and interpreting them.
• Nath advertised on the Internet that he is the best brachial plexus surgeon in the country, a claim that “is not readily verifiable.”
• Nath's fees are “excessive.” In one case, he “performed a 17-minute procedure for one of the 20 patients and submitted a bill for $25,500, which would represent a cost of $1,500 per minute of surgery.”
Nath filed a response with the board flatly denying each of the allegations. Neither he nor his lawyer returned calls Tuesday.
Other accusations
It wasn't the first time Nath has been accused of wrongdoing. He and a former partner, the late Dr. Saleh Shenaq, once had a thriving joint venture at Texas Children's Hospital. In 2003, they made a combined $4.06 million doing shoulder surgeries on children and babies.
The partnership ended in acrimony. Nath sued Shenaq for defamation, and Shenaq countersued, accusing Nath, among other things, of performing unauthorized surgeries and refusing to treat certain patients because of their race.
The suit was eventually dropped by both sides. Meanwhile, Texas Children's closed its brachial plexus clinic after receiving allegations regarding Shenaq. (Nath had left Texas Children's to set up his own “institute.”) Shenaq filed a suit against Texas Children's that resulted in a confidential settlement.
The next step for the Medical Board is to conduct more research in preparation for a mediation requested by Nath and a possible trial before a state administrative judge. One Medical Board staffer estimated the trial could be in six months.
rick.casey@chron.com

[Josh'smom]

WOW is all i can say....interesting article. I think during a certain time he was considered a "top doctor" BUT now is a different time.....just my opinion. He actually performed my son's surgery in 2000.

[Tydymom]

I finally feel better after reading this article. I once had a horrible experience and felt very alone in my opinions. Looks like I wasn't alone at all.

[angelsmom1]

Wow, meet him in florida to have him look at our daughter.
Amazing is all i can say...

[IsysMom]

So am I right in assuming I should not use Dr. Nath if Isabella needs surgery? Please someone let me know. She is now 5 months old and I need to consult with someone about possible surgery for her. Thanks

[claudia]

Isys Mom:
We have a great Medical Resource page on this website. Please use it!! I always recommend that people get 2-3 opinions. This injury is very complex and doctor's views can vary quite a bit. I know it is hard to go from doctor to doctor, but most of the docs who are on the website are "user friendly" and will answer questions via email. Eventually, you will have to travel to them for an evaluation.

I have taken Juliana (11 years old, LOBPI) to Dr. Armenta, Dr. Kozin, Dr. Waters, Dr. Price and Dr. Pearl. We talk to every doctor we can. She has had 4 surgeries.

Good luck,
keep asking questions.

claudia strobing
ubpn board member
ubpnCamp2010 coordinator

[tkirkland]

Wow! I was considering having him do Amaya's surgery...

[dtrusk]

I have very mixed feelings when I read this. I still think Dr. Nath is a good doctor and good at what he does so on that topic I would not hesitate having him perform surgery (my son had Triangle Tilt done with him in 2009 as well as work done for shoulder dislocation). Several years earlier we felt pressured to have this surgery done, but it was still so new that we weren't sure about it. None of us want our children to be "guinea pigs" for surgery. I have also "heard" that some of the legal filings and accusations came from people outside of the brachial plexus specialty who may not completely understand what they are dealing with and what Dr. Nath does. Remember, there are always 2 sides to a story. If something unethical is going on, then it should be looked into....but in the meantime, I agree with Claudia that it is wise to get several opinions and get as much information as you can.

Donna
Son, Tyler ROBPI
MO

[RLM2323]

We went through the process of getting several opinions for our child's brachial plexus injury. We have two friends who are doctors and both advised us to steer clear of Dr. Nath. They wouldn't normally advise anyone of this except that we are friends and we specifically asked their opinions of Dr. Nath. We ended up using Dr. Armenta out of Houston (who actually worked with Dr. Nath a while back when Shenaq (spelling??) was around) for our child's mod quad procedure. He is wonderful!!

Please don't misunderstand my post. I personally have no experience (good or bad) with Dr. Nath - I have no doubt that he is great at performing these surgeries. I am simply passing on info that I received from what we considered to be very reliable sources since someoneon on here asked. Get more than one opinion and go with whomever you feel most comfortable with and whomever you believe will be the best fit for your family.

[tiggerlover247]

We met Dr. Nath in Chicago recently. He was our second opinion. Since then I have taken my son to Dr. Kozin, who was excellent. We are traveling to MN to see Dr. Spinner at Mayo in two weeks for our fourth opinion, per request of his regular nuerosurgeon. I had a really bad "mommy gut" feeling after we saw Nath. Mind you, he never treated my son, but after a two minute examination, Nath was suggesting FOUR surgeries and guarenteed our son 90% ROM after them. Just sounded too good to be true. I also found this article online. It scared me. Please use your gut when it comes to your childs care and good luck to you!