Doctor Fined After Error in Removing Breast
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A leading cancer surgeon was disciplined for mixing up two patients, removing the left breast of a woman who was awaiting a lumpectomy.
Dr. Charles E. Cox was fined $5,000, charged $920.86 in costs and must take a five-hour class in risk management. The Florida Board of Medicine also required the doctor to deliver a lecture on surgical mistakes sometime during the next year.
Cox leads the breast cancer program at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, the state’s only center designated by the National Cancer Institute. He said he has performed 2,500 to 3,000 breast surgeries in 18 years. This is Cox’s first disciplinary case.
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