California Medical Board

The California Medical Board has accused the former head of UCI Medical Center's anesthesiology department of gross negligence and incompetence after he allegedly falsified records and assigned a resident to operating-room duties even though his left hand was in a cast. If the charges are upheld, Dr. Peter H. Breen, who still practices at the Orange-based hospital, could be suspended or have his license revoked.

Kevorkian should be revered as a living saint. He is forcing the medical community to recognize that death is part of living. None of us get out of here alive and some of us would like to be in charge of the event. Executive Director Dixon Arnett and the California Medical Board and their hysterical swipe at Kevorkian let California doctors know that they are next if they even attempt to speak out as bravely as Kevorkian. We will not be fooled. The folks with the hands on the till are in charge of the rules.

State medical officials have accused a Burbank eye doctor of botching cataract surgery on one elderly patient who later went blind and of giving an excessive number of laser "shots" to another who was left with almost no vision in the treated eye. According to state records, Dr. Akim F. Czmus has been on probation since 1987 for falsely telling a Glendale hospital where he was seeking a job that he was certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

An Orange County Superior Court commissioner refused Thursday to reinstate the medical license of a plastic surgeon accused of negligence in the death of a woman after 10 1/2 hours of surgery. Commissioner F. Latimer Gould issued the temporary restraining order in May, preventing Dr. William Earle Matory Jr. from practicing. Matory's attorney, Lloyd Charton, acknowledged his chances of getting the judge to reverse himself Thursday were slim.

The California Medical Board has accused a doctor, suspected of performing unnecessary surgeries, of insurance fraud, gross negligence, dishonest or corrupt acts and incompetence, a board official said Thursday. Dr. Chae Hyun Moon, former head of the cardiology department at Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s Redding Medical Center in Redding, Calif., faces a hearing before an administrative law judge, the medical board said. Moon's office and that of heart surgeon Dr.

Re "Probation in Lap-Band patient death," Business, Aug. 14 I am opposed to applying an automatic three-strikes punishment for all transgressions. But anesthesiologist Daniel Shin deserves one. In 2007, he was convicted of assaulting someone with a meat cleaver. In 2009, a woman he was treating died, and Shin was disciplined by the California Medical Board but continued to practice. And most recently, a Lap-Band patient under his care in 2010 died; the medical board accused him of "gross negligence.

The Medical Board of California, formerly known as the Board of Medical Quality Assurance, licenses physicians and other medical professionals. The board also investigates medical complaints and issues disciplinary actions. The most serious penalties include license revocation, suspension and probation.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents on Wednesday raided the offices of a Los Angeles County doctor suspected of improperly prescribing powerful narcotics to patients - including undercover agents - with no legitimate need for the drugs. Dr. Andrew S.O. Sun, 76, of La Mirada, surrendered his license to prescribe controlled substances after agents with the DEA, California Medical Board, Internal Revenue Service and the state Department of Healthcare Services searched his home and clinics in East Los Angeles and San Gabriel.

An Orange neurosurgeon denies charges that he mistreated five patients during the 1980s, his attorney said Thursday. Dr. Donald R. Defeo, 53, was accused of "gross negligence" and "incompetence" in a complaint filed Aug. 14 by the state attorney general's office on behalf of the California Medical Board. "These are outrageous charges," said attorney Steven Hillyard. "Here's a doctor who is a pillar in the community and an excellent neurosurgeon," Hillyard added.