Cardiologist testifies against doctor accused of implanting unnecessary heart stents

John Setaro, MD, a Connecticut cardiologist, testified in court on March 9 that as many as five heart stents were unnecessarily implanted into a patient that led to dangerous complications.

In the malpractice trial, Ehab Morcos, MD, is being tried for performing the unnecessary procedures at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

“There was no need for more invasive procedures as there were no (health) indications and no benefits,” Setaro said, after reviewing the patient's medical records.

This is the first trial of several that have been brought against Excela, Morcos and George Bou Smara, MD, that have been filed since the hospital issued 192 disclosures to patients who may have received unnecessary heart stents in 2009 and 2010.

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Katherine Davis,

Senior Writer

As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Katherine primarily focuses on producing news stories, Q&As and features for Cardiovascular Business. She reports on several facets of the cardiology industry, including emerging technology, new clinical trials and findings, and quality initiatives among providers. She is based out of TriMed's Chicago office and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Modern Healthcare, Crain's Chicago Business and The Detroit News. She joined TriMed in 2016.

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