According to the Division of Consumer Affairs, East Brunswick-based colon and rectal surgeon Dr. Sanjiv K. Patankar’s medical license has been temporarily suspended for the alleged reuse of single-use disposable anal catheters on more than 80 patients in 2017.
In the released statement, then-New Jersey Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said that the Middlesex County surgeon reused the catheters after washing them. During a hearing on December 19, state prosecutors say that the evidence reportedly shows that while Dr. Patankar's office performed 82 procedures using this device between January 1 and November 30, it only ordered five catheters over that time.
The New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners listened to testimony and reviewed evidence back in December, and unanimously found that Patankar’s reuse of the medical equipment placed his patients in clear and imminent danger, and demonstrated a lack of judgment.
“It is appalling that a doctor would engage in such an unsanitary and dangerous practice,” Porrino said in the statement. “Through his alleged conduct, Dr. Patankar has demonstrated a reckless disregard for public safety that placed countless patients at risk of communicable diseases.”
Levinson Axelrod is currently representing one of the patients affected by Dr. Patankar’s. If you were affected by this issue, we encourage you to give our firm a call at (732) 440-3089 or send us the details of your situation through our online form.
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