La Jolla Doctor Accused of Doing Unneeded Eye Surgeries

SAN DIEGO — A La Jolla doctor is under federal and state investigation for performing unnecessary eye surgeries, mostly on elderly patients, and possibly bilking Medicare of millions of dollars, officials said Monday.

Dr. Jeffrey Rutgard allegedly performed operations--including cataract and eye tuck surgeries--on elderly patients who did not need them, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Some of Rutgard’s patients who underwent eye operations were legally blind; others had vision that was correctable to 20-20, sources said. Most were wooed by the 41-year-old doctor’s charm and caring bedside manner, said sources, including a former patient.

In an effort to lure business, Rutgard allegedly would dispatch employees to nursing homes and senior citizen centers to conduct eye tests. As a result, the elderly often were told to see Rutgard, the sources said.

Federal search warrants were served Monday at Rutgard’s La Jolla home and his La Jolla and Hillcrest offices, said George Hardy, chief of the U.S. attorney’s special prosecution section in San Diego.

Rutgard did not return repeated calls to his offices, which were closed Monday because computers broke down, said office workers who declined to give their names. Rutgard, a University of Illinois College of Medicine graduate, was issued his license to practicemedicine in California Dec. 12, 1978.

“He really deserves to get hanged,” said one former patient, who said she saw Rutgard when she was 27. He performed cataract surgery on her--although doctors before and after the surgery said it was unnecessary.

Supervising state Deputy Atty. Gen. Sandy Feldman declined to comment on allegations concerning Rutgard. But he said his office is seeking an interim suspension order preventing Rutgard from practicing medicine. Since 1988, the Medical Board of California has received 14 complaints against him, ranging from excessive prescribing to unnecessary tests and unwarranted surgeries.

On Monday, Rutgard’s former office administrator said in a sworn affidavit that a patient’s medical records had been altered to support Rutgard’s version of her medical history after Rutgard learned that she was suing him for medical malpractice.