‘Outlier' Plastic Surgeon Gets On Hospital's Tits

A DURBAN HOSPITAL has decided To cut the cord with a plastic sur-geon whose past, it would seem, has finally caught up with him.

- Jonathan Erasmus

But scratching below the surface has revealed that while Dr Leon Dumas may be cavalier at times, he has also done what few doctors do – turn against the hospital at which he practises, bringing medical negligence law suits against the medical institution.

The news that Dr Leon Dumas has been axed by Life Entabeni Hospital in Glenwood, Durban, after 22 years of residency, has rocked the local surgeon network – and been welcomed by his peers.

Dumas is said to have always had a credit-card machine close to hand and that he once accepted the ring of an elderly woman who had died – which was all her bereaved husband (now also deceased) owned that was of value at the time – in part payment for much-needed facial surgery after being disfigured by a cancer operation. The couple’s children confirmed the incident to Noseweek.

Dumas is known for his high fees – confirmed by the regulatory body the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). A source with direct knowledge said one client was billed R138,000 for a procedure that should have cost just R8,000.

Dumas has also fallen out with most of his colleagues, being one of just four surgeons ever to be expelled from the voluntary Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons of Southern Africa (Aprassa) in its 66-year history. Offering peer-review, support, lobbying and guidelines, it currently represents 169 members.

The association – from which he was expelled in 2004 – accused him of “tariffsmanship” which essentially means: “overcharging; the abuse and misuse of inappropriate procedure codes; doctoring of medical documentation; blatant lying; and dishonesty regarding procedures charged for and procedures not being performed,” said a statement from the association’s former president and spokesperson Dr Chris Snijman.