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Texas

Feds arrest Dallas doctor, accused of tampering with IV bag

Dr. Reynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. Faces Federal Indictment in Death of Physician Fellow at Baylor Scott & White Surgery North Dallas

DALLAS — Dallas police on Wednesday arrested a 59-year-old Richardson anesthesiologist on a federal warrant for allegedly tainting an IV bag at a surgical center in north Dallas. Death of Fellow Dallas Doctor and injured several other patients.

Dr. Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. has been accused of falsifying the IV. Baylor Scott & White Surge Care North Dallaslocated at 12230 Coit Road.

He was arrested in Plano on Wednesday.

So far, at least seven patients, and probably more, have had routine surgeries at Surgicare North Dallas between May and August, according to local attorneys representing patients and their families. During that time, he claims to have experienced a serious life-threatening medical emergency.

On June 21, Dr. Melanie Kaspar, 55, an anesthesiologist who also worked at Baylor Scott & White Surge Care North Dallas, brought a saline bag from the facility to her home in Lakewood to treat dehydration. did. When she was put on an IV, she “had a severe heart attack almost immediately and died,” he said. The Texas Medical Commission issued an order Friday to temporarily suspend Ortiz’s medical license..

Ortiz is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate for the first time on Friday and potentially file an indictment. At that hearing, prosecutors were able to ask the judge to suspend Ortiz’s trial. I don’t know if they have lawyers.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration agents are investigating the case.

On Friday, September 9, the Texas Medical Commission temporarily suspended Ortiz’s medical license, calling it a “continuing threat to the public welfare.”

In order to suspend, the medical board said Ortiz was seen on surveillance footage from the Surgicare North Dallas facility “putting an IV bag on the warmer in the hall outside the operating room.” Once in, the patient suffered serious complications shortly afterward.”

In August, the Dallas County coroner ruled that Kaspar died of a bupivacaine overdose. Bupivacaine is an anesthetic used to numb parts of the body and reduce pain during surgical, medical and dental procedures.

Her death was initially ruled to be an accident, but ME has since reopened the case for further investigation.

Melanie Kasper’s husband, John Kasper, said in a statement to WFAA, “She was loved by her patients, her colleagues, and everyone she worked with. She was so tragic.” To see her die is something I will have to live with forever. She was a beautiful woman.”

John Kasper’s attorney, Don Tittle, told WFAA that his client was “reassured to hear that progress is being made” in the investigation.

“John supports and appreciates the efforts of law enforcement,” Title said in a statement Wednesday.

“There is no doubt that Melanie Kaspar’s death was the result of a tampered IV bag. I believe I had a life threatening medical crisis in the months immediately after receiving the bags, believed to be standard saline bags but almost certainly containing bupivacaine and is known to be highly toxic when introduced into the bloodstream.”

“Sadly, Mel unknowingly gave herself a bupivacaine-contaminated IV bag when she was at home. I did,” he said.

Bupivacaine is the same substance that tests have shown to be present in Surgicare North Dallas warmer IV bags, per the Medical Commission’s orders. The bag “had a small visible hole in the wrap around the bag,” the order said.

According to a board order, tests were performed on the remaining contents of an IV bag given to another healthy patient who had a serious cardiac event during routine surgery.

“Tests showed that the infusion contained similar drugs that should not be in the infusion bag,” the order said. “Such drugs can be fatal if administered intravenously unwittingly.”

The Texas Medical Commission said it first learned of the death of a patient with possible IV bag contamination from media reports on Sept. 2. The commission said its staff had received information about the investigation from federal officials on Sept. 8 and had created a state of emergency. Sept. 9, Dr. Ortiz hearing suspended for next day.

A spokesperson for the Texas Medical Board did not disclose when Baylor first notified the board of concerns about rashes in patients who reacted negatively during surgery.

Board spokesman Jarrett Schneider said: “Although legal confidentiality precludes disclosure of the complaint, the board plans to hold an adjournment hearing as soon as actionable information becomes available. I was.

Baylor Scott & White said in a statement issued Wednesday:

“We have actively supported the authorities’ investigation and will continue to do so.We are also working hard to communicate with our patients.”

“Shortly after determining that IV bags may have been compromised on August 24, Surgicare North Dallas suspended all operations and notified the appropriate local and federal authorities. and remain closed as we devote ourselves to assisting investigators.Nothing is more important than the safety and health of our patients.We have created a dedicated phone line for patients with questions: 214-818- 2794. Dr. Reynaldo Ortiz is no longer a member of the medical staff of Surgicare North, Dallas when the Texas Medical Board suspends his license.”

Attorney Bruce Steckler said Wednesday that he currently represents seven clients who underwent surgery at Surgicare North Dallas.

  • 18-year-old woman who had her gallbladder removed
  • A 39-year-old man who underwent a reverse vasectomy
  • 21-year-old woman undergoing breast reduction surgery
  • 18-year-old man undergoes nose surgery after dirt bike accident

“Every client we represent seems to be telling the exact same story,” Steckler said Wednesday. He was healthy, had no underlying problems, and found himself in a major hospital where he had to be intubated and ventilated because he was suffering from respiratory distress. Stop.”

Steckler’s fifth client, a man in his 50s, suffered a heart attack during surgery, Steckler said. The surgery was then canceled and the client was never hospitalized but took a full day to recover. When we went up, they didn’t understand why the episode happened,” Steckler said.

According to Steckler, his two most recent clients include a patient who was having a hernia repaired and another who came in for a cosmetic procedure.

“My client works with law enforcement,” says Steckler.

Ortiz has been disciplined at least twice by the Texas Medical Commission, once in 2018 and twice last month.

On August 19, 2022, the medical board reprimanded Ortiz for failing to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on one of the required anesthesia patients at the North Garland Surgery Center in November 2020, board documents said. increase. The surgical center’s medical executive board issued a “recommendation to the contrary,” and Ortiz waived his medical staff credentials and all clinical privileges. A state medical board ordered that his practice be monitored by an outside doctor and fined him $3,000, documents say.

In 2018, the board reprimanded Ortiz for failing to report a misdemeanor animal cruelty conviction. was convicted of using a pellet gun to shoot and injure a neighbor’s dog. . The discipline was lifted in 2020 “once all requirements have been completed,” medical commission documents said.


In 1995, Ortiz was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of causing bodily harm to his spouse, according to medical board documents.

In 2005, another female partner applied for an emergency protection order against Ortiz, according to a commission document.

Reporters Tanya Eiseler and Ariel Plasencia and producer Mark Smith contributed to this report.

If you are affected by the situation at Baylor Scott & White Surgicare North Dallas, please contact the WFAA investigation team. here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHex2zKrFT4

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/crime/feds-arrest-doctor-accused-of-tampering-with-iv-bags-north-dallas/287-842c3384-461b-4a00-9ead-913a505b58fb Feds arrest Dallas doctor, accused of tampering with IV bag

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