Late last year, we reported on the issues surrounding Dr William Mooney. At the time, the celebrity cosmetic surgeon faced restrictions on his practising licence due to various complaints and even patient deaths.
However, in recent weeks, the practitioner has had his entire licence completely suspended.
Dissecting the work of Dr Mooney
From December 2017 to February 2018, two men under Dr Mooney’s care died. The first patient was Alex “Little Al” Taouil – a prominent bikie figure in NSW. After undergoing a routine sinus operation, Taouil never regained consciousness when complications arose during surgery. His family later made the decision to turn off the life support machine. Following the incident, Dr Mooney denied any wrongdoing, and instead claimed the patient suffered a postoperative stroke that was not directly related to any trauma from his surgery.
Just two months later, Dr Mooney came under fire once more over the death of a second patient – Pouya Pouladian. The former practitioner performed a routine operation to resolve a sleep apnoea problem. However during procedures the patient reportedly suffered a huge bleed and days later, his family turned off his life support machine. In the days that followed, Mooney admitted to nicking an artery but claimed it was merely a freak accident.
Facing restrictions and a media backlash
Following the deaths, Mooney was faced with a number of other complaints, including a court case proceeded by Melissa Demaj. The former strip club worker claimed that Mooney’s nose job ruined her life. As a result, the Medical Council of New South Wales imposed restrictions on his licence. These included not performing frontal and ethmoidal sinus procedures, not possessing, supplying or administering certain drugs and random drug testing.
However, in recent weeks, it was announced that Mooney’s licence had been completely suspended by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. The register does not disclose the reasons for this. Under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act, a medical council can choose to suspend a licence to protect public interest.
While investigations are still underway, those wanting to undergo cosmetic surgery in NSW may feel a little safer thanks to the Council’s decision.
Unfortunately, each and every day, more counts of medical negligence come before the courts.
