Newport plastic surgeon put on 3-year probation over medication prescriptions
A Newport Beach plastic surgeon has been disciplined by the state Medical Board following accusations that he overprescribed Ambien, painkillers and anti-anxiety medication to patients for years after they underwent procedures.
Dr. Walton Montegut agreed this month to enroll in courses related to ethics, record keeping and prescribing drugs as part of his three-year probation, according to Medical Board of California documents.
Montegut, who has been licensed in California since 1996, was accused of gross negligence in his treatment of four patients from 2007 to 2014.
“In a standard plastic surgery setting, a doctor should only prescribe narcotics as it is reasonably related to the type of procedure performed,” according to a complaint filed by the Medical Board in July 2015. “With each of these patients, [Montegut] wrongfully overprescribed.”
Montegut’s attorney did not return a call seeking comment Friday.
The complaint says Montegut prescribed controlled substances, including Vicodin, a painkiller; Ambien, a medication used to help people sleep; and Ativan, an anti-anxiety medication, to a 63-year-old woman.
Montegut had performed fat transfers, breast augmentation and other procedures on the woman from 2008 to 2011 and continued to prescribe medication for her through 2014. That amounted to about 60 to 100 pills per month for five years, according to the complaint.
Another patient, a 59-year-old woman, saw Montegut from 2007 to 2011 for botox treatments. She received refills from him twice a month of phentermine, an appetite suppressant, until 2014, according to the complaint.
“The dosage of five to eight pills of phentermine daily was far larger than the accepted dosage of one pill twice daily,” the complaint states. “Phentermine is not indicated for long-term use.”
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