On Jan. 25, 2021, Arthur Thorne hoped to find relief from an enlarged prostate by undergoing GreenLight Laser treatment at the Advanced Medical Surgery Center of the Salinas Valley Urology Associates in Salinas. Thorne contends in a lawsuit, filed in Monterey County Superior Court on June 29, that what he found instead was life-threatening internal bleeding that landed him in an emergency room.
Thorne and his wife are suing both the practice and Aytac Hilmi Apaydin, the urologist who performed the laser treatment, for negligence. Thorne contends that Apaydin severed two arteries, causing massive internal bleeding. He also alleges that Apaydin ignored his complaints after the procedure. Thorne suffered “life-threatening injuries, a long and arduous recovery, additional surgeries” and more, the suit alleges. (Apaydin did not respond to a request for comment. As of Aug. 16, no response has been filed in court.)
It’s not the first time Apaydin has been accused of negligence. At the time of the procedure, the urologist was three years into a five-year probation mandated by the California Medical Board, stemming from charges filed in 2013 of unprofessional conduct, gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, incompetence and excessive treatment. That probation and his medical license were in danger of being revoked, because in 2019 Apaydin was arrested for driving under the influence, a probation violation.
On May 17 and 18, 2021, a videoconference hearing was held in which Apaydin presented evidence “to rebut the presumption that he is a substance-abusing licensee,” Medical Board records state. “The fact is, however, [Apaydin] consumed an excessive amount of alcohol” and was arrested, putting himself and the public at risk, while on probation. The board ruled that Apaydin should begin a new five-year probation that includes abstaining from alcohol and controlled substances, drug testing and attending support group meetings.
In its ruling, the Medical Board took into consideration two earlier public reprimands it had issued against Apaydin’s license: One in 2008 for failing to inform a patient about a drug’s side effects; in 2010 for leaving a piece of wire in a patient’s bladder and failing to keep adequate medical records.
Meanwhile, Apaydin has been the subject of other legal cases. In 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced that Apaydin and his partner, Stephen Worsham, were required to pay nearly $1.1 million to resolve allegations that they either submitted, or caused to be submitted, false Medicare claims in violation of a physician self-referral law and the anti-kickback statute.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office concluded that Apaydin and Worsham knowingly caused eight urologists to violate the laws by soliciting them to sign leases with a now-closed oncology treatment center in Salinas, owned by Apaydin and Worsham. The leases allowed the urologists to bill for, and profit from, their own referrals to the center.
(3) comments
"Dr." Apaydin is not to be trusted. I had my prostate removed by the then head of Urology at UCSF using the DaVinci robot. He had performed thousands of radical prostatectomies. Apaydin was my local follow-up urologist. He claimed the surgeon did not get all of the prostate and that I needed radiology...at his facility of course. I had to pull over on the way home because of crying.
Something felt fishy, so I scheduled a follow-up at UCSF and the surgeon confirmed total removal of my prostate. He told his aide to write a strongly worded letter to Apaydin. To this day, I have non-detectable PSA. Apaydin is a charlatan and should have his license to practice medicine permanently revoked.
Dr Apaydin has been my Doctor for over two years. I was diagnosed with cancer and because of it’s aggressive nature, Gleason 8, he suggested I check out Dr Pruthi in San Francisco.. one of the best. I did, and opted to stay in Salinas with Dr Apaydin.after Radiation treatment, and 2 years of hormone therapy recommended by my oncologist. I can say this journey has seen nothing but caring staff and Dt Apaydin’s professional and compassionate bedside manner helped me though this.
What is the purpose of the Medical Board? This wanna be physician is a disgrace and a clear and present danger to patients. He should have been struck off years ago.
This does not give one confidence that one’s own physicians are not involved in shady dealing.
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