Dunken surgeon arrested in operating room

The top neurosurgeon at Highland Hospital has been suspended and may be charged with a misdemeanor after what authorities called a drunken altercation with sheriff's deputies in an operating room, officials said Thursday.

Deputies believe Dr. Federico Castro-Moure, 45, was intoxicated during the scuffle and prosecutors may charge him with public drunkenness and interfering with a peace officer.

The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Monday when Castro-Moure argued with nurses recommending that he wait several hours for sterile equipment to arrive before operating on a spinal patient.
Although Castro-Moure wanted to operate immediately, other hospital personnel believed the surgery could be delayed because the patient was stable enough to wait, said Dr. David Altman, the hospital's chief medical officer.

In such cases, it is the hospital's policy to wait. But Castro-Moure became angry and physically and verbally abusive, officials said. A nurse summoned deputies to the foyer outside the fifth-floor operating room.

When deputies attempted to intervene, Castro-Moure allegedly shouted obscenities and used his arm and clenched fist to keep them at bay, officials said. Although the deputies arrested Castro-Moure on suspicion of public intoxication -- based upon both his behavior and the smell of alcohol on his breath -- Eskridge said the doctor was so uncooperative that deputies could not adequately test him for intoxication.

The unidentified patient was in the emergency room at the time and remained there throughout the incident, officials said. His spinal operation occurred Tuesday morning, and he is recovering satisfactorily, Altman said. Read the full article here.