Doctor’s appeal in case of botched nose job dismissed

SINGAPORE — He performed a nose job in February 2008 without properly sedating his patient and also left a piece of gauze in the man’s nasal cavity, intending to remove it later, but did not inform him about it.

Dr Amaldass Narayana Dass also left a piece of knotted thread in the area between the patient’s eyebrows.

And when performing a second nose job on the man about 10 days later, the doctor did not remove the implant despite overwhelming evidence of an infection.

Dr Amaldass, a general practitioner, was censured by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) in May this year and sentenced to a four-month suspension as well as a S$5,000 fine for failing to discharge duty of care.

Dr Amaldass, who felt the suspension was unnecessary, appealed against his sentence, but his appeal was dismissed by the Court of Three Judges yesterday.

Dr Amaldass’ lawyer Niru Pillai had argued that his client’s suspension period was excessive compared with sentences meted out in other cases, but the panel of judges, led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, said sentencing is specific to the facts of each case.

Dr Amaldass, 44, was running his own practice — Advanced Aesthetics and Surgery in Orchard Building — when he performed rhinoplasty on make-up artist Sng Hock Guan, 43, who had previously undergone five nasal reconstructions.

Mr Sng lodged a complaint with the SMC on April 1, 2010.

Dr Amaldass pleaded guilty last year to failing to discharge a duty of care to Mr Sng.

A charge of dishonestly holding himself out as a specialist was withdrawn, as part of the plea bargain with the prosecution.

The SMC’s disciplinary committee found that Dr Amaldass had failed to uphold the most elementary of professional standards when he failed to properly sedate Mr Sng. He had also endangered the patient when he failed to remove the implant despite the infection, breaching the fundamental tenet to do no harm.

The SMC’s lawyers, led by senior counsel Tan Chee Meng, did not have to address the court yesterday.

In written submissions, they argued that Dr Amaldass’ conduct throughout the disciplinary proceedings had shown a lack of contrition.

He had written to the disciplinary committee after its verdict, challenging its finding that Mr Sng was in “indubitable agony”.

Dr Amaldass’ suspension of four months was justified by the seriousness of the breaches and well within the range of three to six months supported by previous cases involving similar offences, SMC’s lawyers argued.

Dr Amaldass, who is married to model Junita Simon, has given up his private practice and undertaken not to practise aesthetic medicine again, said documents tendered in court.

He is currently working as a locum at a public hospital.

The doctor was sombre throughout the hearing yesterday. He was earlier sued by Mr Sng and ordered to pay S$250,000, on top of legal costs, to the patient in 2011.