Plastic Surgeon Discusses Patient’s Death

An Irvine plastic surgeon whose license was temporarily suspended after the death of a liposuction patient defended himself publicly for the first time Thursday about the case that threatens his career.

Dr. William Earle Matory Jr. said he was “deeply committed” to finding the cause of Judy Fernandez’s death following 10 hours of surgery in March, during which 20 pounds of fat were removed.

This week, the Orange County coroner’s office reported that Fernandez, 47, of La Habra, bled to death and that she had a toxic level of lidocaine, a drug usually administered intravenously to control pain.

But Matory said the coroner’s report leaves unanswered questions.

“My surgical team and I are examining the events of the surgery that day and extensively searching the literature to discern why Judy’s outcome was so different from thousands of others I have performed,” he said at a news conference at his attorney’s office.

At the request of the California Medical Board, an Orange County Superior Court has temporarily suspended the licenses of Matory and his anesthesiologist, Dr. Robert Woo. The doctors face an administrative hearing next month, and Matory said he plans to testify “candidly and forthrightly.”

Matory said that none of Fernandez’s internal organs were injured during the surgery and that the autopsy does not verify that the excessive blood loss was caused by liposuction.

The doctor also said that he believes he administered the same amount of lidocaine that he has administered “very safely in scores of other patients.” He said the level of lidocaine in Fernandez’s blood may have increased dramatically when her organs quit functioning properly.

But Ruben Fernandez said Thursday that the autopsy makes it clear that the doctors erred.

“Not only did they bleed her to death, they drowned her in fluids, they poisoned her and then they waited over two hours to call for other help,” Fernandez said. “My wife is dead. [Matory] is the trained person who should have kept that from happening. If he did everything right, she would be alive today.”

Fernandez said that he has not taken any legal action yet. “My first priority is to try and get the licenses revoked and make this an example to the rest of the medical community,” he said. “My only personal gratification will be if the district attorney files criminal charges against these doctors.”

He disputed Matory’s claim that Judy Fernandez had wanted so much plastic surgery that some of the procedures had to be deferred to a later time. Fernandez said that two weeks before her death, an additional $5,000 worth of procedures were sold to her. The total bill for nine procedures that were performed the same day was $20,000.

Matory said he decided to speak out Thursday because “it has been very difficult to watch Ruben Fernandez criticize me for not having spoken out, even though I knew he understood full well my limitations pending trial. It has been equally difficult for me to listen to false accusations and innuendo regarding my 26-year-long practice of medicine.”

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The anesthesiologist’s correct name is Robert K. Hoo, not Robert Woo.

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