LA surgeon who operated on Bill Paxton denies negligence dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5690543/la-surgeon-operated-bill-paxton-days-died-denies-negligence.html May 4, 2018 +8 Dr Ali Khoynezhad, the heart surgeon who operated on actor Bill Paxton days before he died, has denied negligence in his treatment The heart surgeon accused of performing a 'maverick' operation on actor Bill Paxton days before he died has denied negligence. Dr Ali Khoynezhad and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he worked have asked for a malpractice lawsuit brought by his family to be dismissed. Lawyers say that Mr Paxton 'knowingly and voluntarily' agreed to a procedure to fix an aortic aneurism despite having a 'preexisting condition' that rendered him 'susceptible to potential complications'. Mr Paxton, who was best-known for his roles in Apollo 13, Titanic and Twister, suffered immediate complication from the surgery and died of a stroke 11 days later. Dr Khoynezhad, a world-renowned heart surgeon, resigned from his position following the actor's death. 1/13
Paxton's wife Louise and their two children allege in their lawsuit, filed last month, that Dr Khoynezhad performed a 'maverick' operation on the 61- year-old's heart. The suit added that he and his family were not fully briefed on the dangers before his operation on February 14 2017, and said they only learned afterward that the surgery was not necessary. 'We are pursuing accountability and justice from a physician and a hospital that failed to adequately protect Mr. Paxton,' the family lawyer, Steve Heimberg, says in the release. 2/13
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Paxton's wife Louise (pictured together in 2016) claims Dr Khoynezhad performed a 'maverick' operation on the actor without making them fully aware of the risks Dr Khoynezhad resigned from his position at Cedars Sinai Medical Center following Paxton's death. The hospital has also denied wrongdoing Paxton was survived by his wife of 30 years, Louise, and their two children, James and Lydia. According to the lawsuit, both Khoynezhad and the hospital failed to clearly explain to the family the risks of a 'minimally invasive surgery on an aortic aneurism' that Paxton underwent on February 14 of last year. Paxton at the time was diagnosed with two specific heart-related ailments bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital condition, and aortic aneurysm. This birth defect leaves the aortic valve - the main artery from the heart that distributes oxygen-rich blood to the body - operating with just two small leaflets that help regulate blood flow as opposed to three in a healthy heart, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 4/13
The condition is not considered debilitating and does not produce noticeable symptoms. An aortic aneurysm is a bulge in a section of the aorta. This condition is potentially life threatening since it can cause the aorta to burst, leading to massive bleeding and eventually death in a short amount of time. Khoynezhad and the hospital recommended that Paxton undergo surgery for aortic aneurysm, according to the lawsuit. The family say they later learned the star's operation was 'unnecessary'. The family also alleges that neither Khoynezhad or Cedars-Sinai staff adequately made them aware of the potentially negative consequences of the surgery for Paxton. 5/13
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The lawsuit filed by Louise and Paxton's children (pictured together in 2011) also alleges that they were not aware the surgery was unnecessary until afterward According to the Paxton family, Khoynezhad and Cedars-Sinai failed to 'disclose that performing the procedure as a minimally invasive surgery was novel, unconventional, and not the standard of care.' The lawsuit also alleges that Khoynezhad 'lacked experience and/or expertise' in performing the procedure as a minimally invasive surgery.' Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Khoynezhad and Cedars-Sinai acted 'beyond the scope' of Paxton's 'consent' in performing a 'high-risk and unconventional' surgery on the late actor. The lawsuit alleges that the surgeon and the hospital allowed the unconventional operation to go forward in order to enhance their 'personal and reputational benefit.' Had Paxton or his family been aware of the nature of the operation, they likely would have declined 'a dangerous and risky' surgery, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit alleges that Khoynezhad may have had a financial incentive to go through with the procedure that he chose, which in turn 'affected [his] professional judgment'. The family says that after the operation, Paxton started to have complications. Paxton was best-known for his roles as astronaut Fred Haise in Apollo 13 (left) and storm chaser Bill Harding in Twister (right) 7/13
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Paxton also starred in Oscar-winning movie Titanic as deep-sea researcher Brock Lovett During these complications, Khoynezhad wasn't even at the hospital, 'causing a delay in treatment resulting in damage,' the lawsuit alleges. The family says that the initial failed operation led to subsequent surgeries on Paxton, including a 'coronary artery bypass graft, the placement of an intra-aortic balloon pump, the placement of a right ventricular assist device, and an ECMO (extracorporeal membrance oxygeneration) support' (also known as life support). Cedars-Sinai released a statement on Tuesday saying: 'State and federal privacy laws prevent us from commenting about patient care without written authorization.' Nonetheless, '[n]othing is more important to Cedars-Sinai than the health and safety of our patients. These remain our top priorities. 'One of the reasons for our high quality is that we thoroughly review concerns about any patient's medical care. 'This process ensures that we can continue to provide the highest quality care.' Khoynezhad has been practicing medicine for over two decades and is considered an internationally renowned heart surgeon, according to US News and World Report. He is currently working for MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center in Los Angeles. A spokesperson for MemorialCare said all questions on the operation should be referred to Cedars-Sinai and that Khoynezhad is 'in good standing with our organization.' Paxton rose to stardom in such Hollywood blockbusters as Titanic and inspired budding meteorologists as a tornado chaser in Twister. 10/13
Paxton, who appeared in more than 90 films or television shows over four decades, had recently starred in the HBO television series Big Love about a polygamous Mormon family, and acted alongside Tom Cruise in the 2014 film Edge of Tomorrow. For his role in Apollo 13, Paxton won a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture in 1996. The son of a Texas businessman, Paxton had a brush with history on Nov. 22, 1963, when as an 8-year-old he saw President John F. Kennedy speak outside a Fort Worth hotel hours before Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. A photo of Paxton held above the crowd to catch a glimpse of the president became famous, and 50 years later, Paxton narrated the documentary JFK: The Final Hours. BILL PAXTON SUFFERED FROM A COMMON HEART DEFECT THAT CAN REQUIRE SURGERY TO FIX Paxton had a birth defect called bicuspid aortic valve disease (BAVD) which affects between one and two percent of people mostly men in the US. The heart condition is genetic and causes two of the three flaps that seal off the valves of the heart to fuse together during development in the womb. The faulty leaflets, or cusps, can keep the aortic valve one of the four muscular openings that control blood flow through the heart from opening and closing completely. When the heart has to operate with these imperfect seals, blood does not flow through it as efficiently. This can lead to one of two problems: either blood spills back and forth into parts of the heart, or the heart has to pump harder to squeeze blood through the narrow or swollen main artery, or aorta. 11/13
About 30 percent of people with BAVD have some related complications, including heart failure and aneurysms, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Paxton s heart defect led to an aortic aneurysm, or an area where the tissue of the vessel bulged out because it had been strained, stretched and weakened over time. In some cases, an untreated aneurism can burst, and the blood coursing through the heart can spill out into the cavity, quickly killing the person. About 80 percent of people with BAVD will need surgery to repair the damage to their aorta or the valve at some point in their lives. Depending on the severity of the aneurysm, doctors may elect to repair or 12/13
replace the valve, but typically only perform either procedure if the aneurism gets big enough between 5cm and 5.5cm, according to the University of Michigan. The Cleveland Clinic recommends valve replacement over repairs, but reports good survival statistics for both. Paxton s doctor elected to repair the aneurysm, through what the family s lawyers called a minimally invasive procedure suggesting that it may have been a relatively new kind of operation called an endovascular surgery with stent placement. The risk of dying during or soon after an endovascular surgery is lower than the risk from open surgery, the University of Michigan s website says of the operation. Stroke is one of the most common possible complications from either kind of aneurysm repair, but only an estimated one out of every 100 people die after the less invasive surgery. 13/13