A Dallas anesthesiologist has been sentenced to 190 years in prison for injecting a nerve-blocking agent and other drugs into bags of IV fluid at Baylor Scott & White Surgicare North Dallas.
According to a Nov. 20 news release by the Department of Justice, Raynaldo Ortiz, MD, was sentenced for injecting IV bags with bupivacaine, epinephrine and lidocaine into five IV bags and placing them in a warming bin in August 2022 for medical staff to use on patients.
Following Dr. Ortiz' tampering with the bags, four patients suffered cardiac emergencies during low-risk cosmetic procedures.
The investigation began on June 21, 2022, when fellow anesthesiologist Melanie Kaspar, MD, was thought to have had a heart attack. The Dallas County Medical Examiner ruled her death to be from the effects of bupivacaine. According to the board, she took an IV bag home with her when she was ill to rehydrate, inserted the IV into her vein and had a serious cardiac event and died. Dr. Ortiz was implicated, but not charged, in the death of Dr. Kaspar.
Dr. Ortiz was found guilty of all 10 charges in April. He pleaded not guilty to charges.