Former anesthesiologist pleads guilty in death of orthopedic surgeon

A former anesthesiologist on Dec. 3 pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter of an orthopedist who had surgery at Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery Center in Beverly Hills, Calif., in 2017, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Five notes:

1. Before the surgery, Stephen Kyo-Sung Kim, MD, said he injected himself with Demerol stolen from various surgery centers and left the operating room to inject himself with more Demerol and Toradol during the procedure on 71-year-old orthopedic surgeon Mark Greenspan, MD., according to the article.

2. Mr. Kim said that he did not recall a conversation on the morning of the surgery that the procedure would be done under a local anesthesia with intravenous sedation rather than general anesthesia, which was used, according to the report.

3. Dr. Greenspan went into cardiac arrest after Mr. Kim administered a lethal dose of Demerol and another medication to the patient after surgery, according to the report. Mr. Kim said he unsuccessfully tried to intubate Dr. Greenspan several times.

4. Mr. Kim agreed to surrender his medical license and never work in the medical field again.

5. He was taken into custody after his guilty plea and is expected to be sentenced in December 2023 to two years in prison, which he will already have served by that time.

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