A doctor has been suspended for a year over claims that he performed a procedure on a patient without receiving proper consent.
Dr Gomes De Sanches Damas is said to have performed “keyhole” surgery on the patient while working in the Surrey Heath area despite only obtaining consent for an “open” procedure, according to a tribunal.
A Fitness to Practice Hearing was told how Dr Damas had also amended the consent form to indicate consent to a “keyhole” approach in a “dishonest” way following the operation on September 25, 2018.
Keyhole or minimally invasive surgery is a method of carrying out an operation without having to make a large incision. It is also known as laparoscopic surgery when used to operate on the abdomen.
Open surgery is the most common type of surgery, where the skin is cut so that the surgeon has a full view of the organs involved. Staples and stitches are used to close the incision.
Dr Damas was initially suspended at a hearing in August 2023, but a panel determined that he should face another year of suspension as he had failed to engage with the Tribunal or provide evidence.
The panel concluded that a further suspension of 12 months would be appropriate to “allow Dr Damas time to engage with his regulator, and to provide evidence as to any remediation and insight that he has developed”.
However, they concluded that striking Dr Damas off the medical register would not be “appropriate or proportionate at this time”.
Dr Damas could not be reached for comment.
