Oz surgeon faces group suit over 'botched surgeries'

Melbourne, April 18 (ANI): A plastic surgeon in Queensland has been slapped with a lawsuit after angry ex-patients teamed up to accuse the "expert" of messing up surgery on as many as 22 of them.

Isolde Hertess is facing allegations of having botched numerous medical procedures including breast implants, face-lifts, tummy tucks and liposuction.

According to The Courier-Mail, complaints from several female former patients included inability to close eyelids after a facelift and bad scars and lopsided breasts after boob jobs.

One claimed a wrong part of her nose was removed while she went under the knife to have a skin cancer growth removed.

While Hertess declined to comment, fellow surgeon and orthopaedic Michael Mansfield defended her saying, the former Melbourne University Medical School graduate was being "unfairly persecuted".

"This has the potential to destroy her business and reputation. Ten per cent of our patients are unhappy with the outcomes," News.com.au quoted him as saying.

"This is a highly trained, highly skilled surgeon who has a normal complication rate and this whole thing has been blown out of proportion, he added.

Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons chief executive Gaye Phillips added that the lawsuit was an "isolated" case but confessed it may be one of the country's biggest cosmetic medical negligence class actions. (ANI)