Naval Hospital Fires Top Heart Surgeon : ‘Surgical Competence’ Questioned; Probe Launched at Bethesda

The chief heart surgeon at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland has been dismissed because of questions about his “surgical competence.”

The Navy said today that it is also launching a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the hiring of Cmdr. Donal Billig and his subsequent appointment as chief of the cardio-thoracic surgery department at the service’s flagship hospital.

Billig, whose clinical privileges were suspended in late November, was notified last Thursday that his staff appointment as well as his surgery privileges had been revoked, according to Diane LaMacchia, a spokeswoman for the Naval Medical Command.

Billig now has a week to decide if he will appeal the decision.

The Navy said it suspended Billig’s privileges “when quality assurance mechanisms indicated problems” in his practice.

He was subsequently given a hearing before the hospital’s medical credentials committee, which questioned his “surgical competence” and recommended that he not be permitted to continue treating patients, LaMacchia said.

No Abnormal Death Rate

The spokeswoman said the Navy will not discuss what specific event or events prompted the revocation of Billig’s privileges. She also declined to discuss the mortality rate of Billig’s patients, but said the cardiac surgery unit as a whole had not suffered an abnormally high death rate during his tenure.

LaMacchia said the formal board would begin meeting “on or about April 29.” She said the board could recommend administrative sanctions or criminal charges against those involved in Billig’s appointment.

Defense Department regulations require all doctors to have their credentials scrutinized before commencing military service. The Navy said today that the question of whether Billig’s credentials were reviewed sufficiently was a matter to be investigated by the board.

Billig, 54, joined the Navy in December, 1982. He joined the staff at Bethesda in January, 1983, and was named the head of the cardiac surgery department the following June.

The Washington Post reported today that Billig holds valid medical licenses in at least three states--New York, Texas and Pennsylvania--and that he once held a license in New Jersey as well. The paper said Billig retired his license in New Jersey in 1981 after inquiries about “questionable surgery” were made by the Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J., where he then practiced.