A gynecologist in Virginia is facing up to 465-years in prison after being found guilty of performing unnecessary surgeries on his patients.
The Justice Department announced on Monday that a federal jury convicted Dr. Javaid Perwaiz, of Chesapeake, on 52 counts tied to performing medically unnecessary surgeries on his patients, some of which included hysterectomies, since 2010– and maybe earlier.
According to court records, Perwaiz told his patients the surgeries were necessary, and and they replied on his medical advice.
According to court records, Perwaiz then billed private and government insurance companies millions of dollars for the surgeries. He also billed large amounts for procedures he didn’t actually perform.
The Virginia Pilot reported last month that Perwaiz operated on 41.26% of patients over a 10-year period– which, according to Melinda Matzell, an investigator with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, was unusually high. The average doctor performs surgeries on just 7.63% of patients.
Prosecutors detailed cases from 29 patients in court documents, though hundreds of women have said they underwent unnecessary surgeries performed at the hands of Perwaiz, the Washington Post reported last year.
Perwaiz is set to be sentenced on March 31 and faces up to 465 years in prison.
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