Melbourne surgeon failed to tell patient he invented ‘experimental’ device used to replace jaw joints, court documents claim

The patient, who does not want to be identified, claims the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) replacement left her unable to work and with chronic pain. Dr Dimitroulis denies the claims and says he ‘acted in a manner that was widely accepted in Australia’. Photograph: Supplied by patient

A Melbourne surgeon failed to tell a patient undergoing major jaw surgery that the device she was being implanted was an “experimental” one that he invented, and that he also created the classification system used to diagnose her condition as severe enough to warrant removing her jaw joints, according to documents filed in a Victorian court case accusing him of negligence.

The surgeon, Dr George Dimitroulis, is being sued by a former patient, Bianca*, who alleged in a statement of claim filed to Victoria’s supreme court that he did not fully advise her of the risks before the operation.