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Bad Blocks Blind 5 Cataract Patients
An anesthesiologist's first day adminis-
tering blocks at the busy cataract sur-
gery center was a disaster, with patients
screaming in anguish as the needles
missed their mark and pierced their
eyeballs and retinas. Tzay Chiu, MD,
reportedly blinded 5 patients in one
morning at Cataract & Laser Center
West in West Springfield, Mass., while
trying to administer peribulbar and/or retrobulbar blocks.
Four of the 5 patients were left completely blind in their affected
eyes, and the fifth was left with a crescent-shaped blind spot that
severely limits his vision. Two of the patients have filed lawsuits
and all 5 have hired lawyers.
Dr. Chiu, who could not be reached for comment, later signed a
practice restriction agreement with the state medical board in
which he agreed to no longer perform peribulbar or retrobulbar
blocks (he reportedly can continue to practice anesthesia while
under investigation). Rebecca Capozzi, his lawyer, did not return a
call from Outpatient Surgery.
Dr. Chiu had been assigned to the facility by D&G Associates, an
anesthesiologist broker in Massachusetts. The center believed
Dr. Chiu was competent, based on 2 letters of reference from col-
leagues and on the word of the anesthesiologist usually assigned
to the center, who has disputed that account in a recent deposi-
tion, according to reports. Both the surgery center and D&G
Associates declined to comment. — Jim Burger
• MISSED SHOT? Did a Massachusetts anesthesiologist
accidentally pierce the retinas of 5 cataract patients?
CATARACT DISASTER
