Australia – 30th July, 2019: There are some stories that just really touch you as a journalist. Last month we aired a story about surgeon Dr William Mooney, who is under investigation by the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) after the deaths of two of his patients.
Following our story, we were inundated with calls and emails from some of Dr Mooney's former patients, who wanted to share their experiences. Tonight, they bravely spoke out.
"I'm alive, thank god, but what I'm feeling ... no one can understand," Paula, a former patient of Dr Mooney, told A Current Affair.
Paula had a sinus operation and rhinoplasty with Dr William Mooney. She says following her operation, she was in severe pain and struggled to breathe, and unhappy with how she felt she was treated.
"I felt intimidated, I felt like I was nothing, like I had no say, and every time I had a question in regards to my nose, he was abrupt, he was like 'No, I know what I'm talking about, take it or leave it.' I just thought OK, and I put my trust in him," said Paula.
Dr Mooney refunded Paula a portion of her money, and referred her to another surgeon. She was put on a wait list, and twelve months later, Paula underwent a revision surgery with that doctor.
Paula says her experience with Dr Mooney has greatly impacted her life.
"I can't smell, I can't breathe, I don't have enough oxygen to my body, I have gained weight. I can't gym properly, I can't go on holidays and enjoy going on hikes. I feel like I'm out of breathe and I'm having a heart attack," she said.
"I don't sleep well, every day I go to work feeling exhausted."
I could see the pain in Paula's eyes. A strong woman, a single mother of two, working to support her family, but struggling to cope.
And Paula wasn't the only one. For weeks it felt like all I was doing was speaking to patients who feel as though their lives have been torn apart at the hands of this doctor. Some stories so horrible, I'd hang up the phone, walk away from my desk and cry.
More than thirty of Dr William Mooney's former patients contacted A Current Affair in the past month, many too afraid to tell their story publicly.
One patient was too embarrassed to reveal his face because of the way he looks after having a rhinoplasty surgery with Dr Mooney in 2012.
"Once I'd finished the surgery, I was sent home, and within a couple of days I started to notice a rather strong odor, basically of rotten flesh around the nose. So I went back to Dr Mooney's office, they had a look at it, and transferred me straight to emergency," he told A Current Affair.
The patient was told the tip of his nose was dying. He was hospitalised for five days, with time spent in a hyperbaric chamber.
"It was extremely difficult. I actually would wear a band aid over the tip of my nose to try and cover it because it was so horrendous," he said.
After undergoing a series of operations to repair the damage with another surgeon, he's been left with severe scarring. The only advice he says Dr Mooney could provide him was to wear makeup to cover it up.
"It's amazing the impact it actually has on you. It effects your confidence, the way I interact with people now, it's really had quite a toll on me," the patient said.
For some of these patients, being interviewed was the opportunity they'd been waiting for, an opportunity to tell their story and be heard. However, until our program, many thought they were alone.
"When I came out of surgery I was feeling like death warmed up, I was white as a ghost, I wasn't functioning properly I really don't even want to think what it was like really, it was horrific," Lynda told A Current Affair.
Lynda had a rhinoplasty and her ears pinned back with Dr William Mooney in November 2016. She says her ear was severely infected and was very unhappy with the results of her nose job. Lynda's since had revision surgery with another surgeon, but says her experience with Dr Mooney still haunts her.
Dr Mooney is not a plastic surgeon, although he has claimed to be, including in a promotional video. Lynda says had she known that, she never would've gone to him.
Dr William Mooney was suspended by the Medical Council on November 7, 2018, after the deaths of two of his patients.
Pouya Pouladian was just 24 years old when he had a routine operation to alleviate sleep apnoea with Dr Mooney in February last year.
It's alleged Dr Mooney may have nicked an artery.
Following the operation, Pouya suffered a major bleed, followed by cardiac arrest, resulting in severe brain damage.
His life support machine was turned off less than a month later.
Pouya's mother, Sisi, and sister, Ashley, took their own lives five months after Pouya's death.
Pouya was Dr Mooney's second patient to die after complications from surgery. Dr Mooney has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the deaths.
On June 3 this year, the suspension was lifted and Dr Mooney returned to work, with an extensive list of restrictions on his registration, though doctors subject to conditions are not required to inform patients about them.
"He never said there could be complications from this, he never said anything like that and now I'm left with tingling, and the pain and I can't even breathe properly," another patient, John, told A Current Affair.
A Current Affair took the matter to the Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, who told us that "this particular case is being considered through the Health Care Complaints Commission. If the medical regulators find against a health professional, I would expect the strongest action to be taken against them."
Researching Dr William Mooney and speaking with some of his former patients has been heartbreaking, but these are stories we can't shy away from.
For some of these brave patients, their experiences with Dr William Mooney has changed their lives, they're hoping that by speaking out, they can protect others.
Source: https://www.9news.com.au/national/dr-william-mooney-celebrity-surgeon-patients-come-forward-more-claims-a-current-affair/b351a774-aef6-49ce-974e-eec257898877