The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 6

6A THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Tuesday July 4 1995 W'lf Saltier Wax Ridenhour a former ballroom dance instructor given interviews She lives with her hus-' band William in a faded yellow doublewide trailer in neighboring Pender County Her daughters said a doctor referred Ridenhour to Sattler because she had an earache Tests showed she had two aneurysms dilated blood vessels in the brain that can burst and cause severe damage or death Sattler has said he was operating to the aneurysms a common procedure used to prevent ruptures daughters say she had a stroke during the operation and new doctors at UNC-Chapel Hill discovered an infection from the surgery Daughter Sherry Baines 38 said her mother be left alone and addresses people who have died has just destroyed our said other daughter Lori Simmons 33 mom will never be the same This Practice is Sattler still lives in Wilmington But a for-sale sign now sits in front of his $219000 house where he and his wife are raising two adopted girls ages 3 and 17 ROGER WILLET Associated Press Dr Raymond Sattler and his wife Deborah with party About their pet pig Norma Jean at her coming-out the event 300 guests showed up in black tie for tlements with doctors instead of yanking their licenses He said that heads off litigation which would eat up its $3 million annual budget The board said Sattler could keep his license if he submitted to reviews of patient charts and psychiatric evaluations By law Breaden said the board comment on cases But in its April decision to restore his license it said that with those measures Sattler can practice reasonable skill and famous pig Sattler a California native who has practiced in Lumberton and Fayetteville has raised eyebrows before In a 1986 front-page article The Wall Street Journal featured 600-pound pet pig Norma Jean Sattler and his wife Deborah were throwing a debutante party in Lumberton for the pig who was to wear a pink tutu a rhinestone tiara and earrings When they moved to Wilmington in 1987 neighbors objected to the pig Smith his lawyer said that notoriety may explain why some turned against Sattler He said an extensive psychiatric evaluation of Sat-tler last year found no problems Smith said he gathered testimonials from 80 doctors and 180 pa-hents for the medical board all said is a able surgeon with excellent skills one of the best ever he said 7 malpractice claims But record has had other blemishes Local nurses recently circulated a petition because they worried about working with him Since 1990 seven patients or their families have filed medical malpractice claims against him in New Hanover County In 1992 Sattler temporarily lost his malpractice insurance because of the number of suits against him In four cases families blamed Sattler and other doctors for deaths Other suits claimed that mistakes led to serious injuries including blindness and memory problems Sattler denied negligence in every case Last November Sattler reached a $280000 settlement with the family of Theodore Whitlock 28 a mechanic Their lawsuit alleged Whitlock died of a cerebral hemorrhage after Sattler delayed treatment of a head injury In 1993 Sattler settled another suit for $58000 Of the other cases families agreed to dismiss three for unspecified reasons one is pending and one went to trial which Sattler won months A notice on the door of his office reads: Practice is Former patients and their families worry about moving going to happen if he moves to Butte Montana and the only neurosurgeon for 500 said lawyer Gary Shipman who won the $280000 settlement going to tell him he practice going to STORES'OPENTODAY OfuMi iMiMi LKg aiunr have a parade down Main Smith attorney disagreed: think his career is about destroyed nothing for him to do nowhere for him to -J -J in-ai mmmmmrn lliipsi the world IiidcpendcnHahorRtorytcstjprovMhe Sleeping Beau "Kingsdown provide'? bctterjuppor other mattresT brands KingsdmTmiqu7)nsulatinE material FI exatronJnakcsY Sleeping Beauty joystem'cvcirmorg beneficial for your health? Flexa frcefend 1 monevcan hmlVVithTwLifetimewrwarrantv kl Surgeon has license but career may be over Continued from page 1A room hear orders Sattler said it never interfered with surgery Told others during surgery he think because of low blood sugar but operated anyway Acted confused and forgetful failing to recall names of surgical equipment Sattler said that he like other surgeons occasionally forgets instrument names Ordered himself an intravenous hook-up during surgery saying he thought he might pass out Sattler said he had completed an operation and received a hook-up on a orders Told a registered nurse to drill a hole in a skull even though she trained or licensed to do so When her hands shook with fear Sattler told her to rest them on the skull so no one would notice Sattler acknowledged the incident but said the nurse was properly supervised Sattler dispute the facts of the Ridenhour case but said ne made sure she was stable and returned to complete the operation successfully His awyer saia behavior wasn unusual can go on tor hours and hours and Smith said have to go out and obey the call of nature go to a lab for results report to the family They get weak and get a cup of coffee and a Dr Robert Creighton Jr who checks backgrounds at New Hanover Regional Medical Center convinced sure a lot of us in the course of a long operation have had to take a break because feeling sick or Creighton said we get someone to take over You just walk out if got a Big Mac attack and say you Critics say the case shows that medical boards protect doctors not patients Last year the NC Board of Medical Examiners oversaw 24000 doctors and received more than 700 complaints Its 12 board members eight of whom are physicians disciplined 51 doctors and revoked 23 licenses Board spokesman Dale Breaden said his agency often reaches set lood More Mecklenburg paternity fraud feared Continued from page 1A from two men: the one believed to be the father and a stranger she stopped on Independence Boulevard Gilchrist said her case was the first of its kind in North Carolina and possibly the nation Weary was indicted in 1993 after her estranged husband Leaman Weary told authorities she falsified results of a paternity test involving Larry Melton of Charlotte Melton a former National Football League player was tested after Sheila Fleming of Charlotte claimed he was the father of her child born Feb 2 1990 Greensboro-based Genetic Design Inc under contract to NC Child Support Enforcement sent Weary to Charlotte the following September to draw blood samples from all three Dunng the weeklong trial Melton testified that Karen Weary offered to save him the long-term expense of child support in exchange for $500 He said she kept the pressure up until the tourniquet was on his arm and the needle was poised above it Leaman Weary testified that Melton paid half the money that day and promised the rest the next week He said his ex-wife got the blood for the switch as the couple drove out of town saw these two guys walking down Independence Boulevard and told me to pull Leaman Weary said offered them $25 for a blood sample said The other said he could use the money So she put him in the passenger seat of the car and drew his Neither Melton nor Leaman Weary was charged with a cnme knew the case would be stronger if they would Gilchrist said real public policy issue was to get this woman and try to see what else might be out Karen Weary took the stand denying all charges Jurors spent less than an hour reaching a verdict The 38-year-old mother of two was convicted of corporate malfeasance falsifying company records and obtaining property by false pretenses Friday prosecutor Jeannie Brown argued for the maximum 25-year sentence Fleming knew who her father was and her hands were tied (by the false test Brown said it been for Leaman Weary turning Karen i i Sheila Fleming knew who her father was and her hands were tied (by the false test result) If it been for Leaman Weary turning Karen Weary in this child still have a daddy he still have any Jeannie Brown prosecutor Canopy $297 Beds Any Sira mjtnih um TWIN Comfort 100 FuUEaPc- 69 mvCASH 267 CARRY Queen 2 Pc Set King 3 Pc Set I 10 YR VVARR FA PC TWIN ESSENCE FuU Ea- Pc- 89 Queen 2 Pc Set 237 FA PC Kin3 Pc Set 317 LARGESTSELECTION 0 BRASS IRON BEDS DAYBEDS twin Springwall 79 Full Ea Pc 1 19 Queen 2 Pc Set 287 15 YR WARR- FA PC 3 Pc Set 367 BEAUTY "ORTHOPEDIC 2000" Provides correct alignment with ideal comfort support VALUE PRICE OUR PRICE TWIn Set 597 Full Set 697 Queen Set 1 1 59 797 King Set 1498 997 ENGLANDER FuU Ea Pc 139 Jm 3r Queen 2 Pc Set 337 397 Queen 2 Pc Set FA PC King 3 Pc Set twin JAMISON $91 fFull Ea Pc 149 1 1 Jr Queen 2 Pc Set 397 Queen 2 Pc Set SLEEPING BEAUTY "CREST The best comfon support can buy VALUE PRICK OUR PRICE TWIn Set 949 647 Full Set 1049 757 Qoeen Se 279 King Set 1599 1077 JFfA 3PcJ5et Weary in this child still have a daddy he still have any Defense attorney Marshall Swann said prosecutors exaggerated claims against his client who had no prior criminal record She make a statement Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Shirley Fulton sentenced Weary to 10 years but ordered her to serve just six months She barred Weary from working as a phlebotomist during five years of probation and ordered her to perform 100 hours of community service and pay $6000 in legal fees and fines There may be more legal action Weary was indicted in Durham County last year on charges of falsifying company records in a 1990 blood test in Durham And Gilchrist said there may be other cases in Mecklenburg about the difficulty of trying to bring all the parties back (for he said adding that new samples from the mother child and putative father would have to be drawn in each questionable case trying to identify the tests we think are suspicious then go back and see what we come up Gilchrist said Melton has been paying child support regularly and repaying back support since the switch 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