OAN’s Avril Elfie
1:38 PM – Wednesday, April 3, 2024
A patient testified at the trial of a Dallas anesthesiologist accused of tampering with IV bags.
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On Tuesday, a 57-year-old patient testified at the trial of Dr. Reynaldo Ortiz, who is accused of tampering with IV bags at Baylor Scott & White Surgical Care Center in North Dallas.
Prosecutors say Ortiz’s actions put patients at risk and resulted in one death.
The woman, whose identity has not been made public, testified that she underwent facelift and liposuction surgery at the center in August 2022. However, it was at another hospital that she woke up from her surgery in extreme pain.
She went on to say that she had no idea what was happening, but that she had been intubated and “knew something was really wrong.” The patient went on to say that he was told that his “blood pressure spiked” during the surgery, so “the doctor had to abort the surgery” and that he was taken to the hospital where he spent four nights in the ICU.
She also said her health has deteriorated since the surgery and she is now taking beta-blockers “for the rest of my life.”
Ortiz is accused of injecting a neuroleptic into an IV bag used during surgery, causing a cardiac emergency.
Ashley Burks, a nurse at the facility, also testified during the trial. Her prosecutor showed her a series of photos from the center and a floor plan where the cameras were installed. Dr. Birx said the cameras were installed in May 2022, but she said she had been working with Dr. Ortiz since 2009 and had participated in “hundreds” of surgeries.
When prosecutors asked if Ortiz had ever placed an IV bag in a warmer, Birx said “no” because “his job is to take care of patients, not stockpile warmers.” I answered.
Prosecutors went on to show Birx surveillance video of Ortiz.
On August 9, 2022, at 8 a.m., Ortiz was seen removing three IV bags from a warmer. He is seen on camera placing one IV bag into a warmer at 10:19 a.m., and another member is seen placing an IV bag into a warmer 35 minutes later. . Medical staff visits the warmer and retrieves the bag to take to the surgery. At 11:03 a.m., a video shows medics rolling a crash cart.
According to Birx’s testimony, the patient was one of several unexplained emergencies that occurred that month.
Additionally, prosecutors showed a recording of a similar incident on August 16th.thAugust 19ththAugust 24thththe day of my 18-year-old rhinoplasty.
When Birx discussed the medical emergency during her testimony, she became emotional and said, “It’s happening again.”
Burks said she went to the doorway and observed medical professionals performing chest compressions on Burks as they waited for paramedics to arrive. At that moment, Birx was instructed by another doctor, Chad Marsden, to remove the IV bag directly from its packaging.
Dr. Birx said Dr. Marsden instructed her to keep the bag she was in during the surgery and to replace the patient’s bag.
Ms. Birx testified that she collected all the bags from the warmer and all the bag wrappers from the operating room in preparation for a meeting in her office later that day.
But then she said she noticed something strange about the bag she had last used.
“I could see there was a hole there,” Birx said in testimony.
Meanwhile, Ortiz’s defense tried to argue that he was never seen on camera injecting the bag.
The doctor has pleaded not guilty to 20 federal charges related to tampering with and tampering with IV bags. He currently faces a possible life sentence if later convicted.
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