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A former Rocklin physician was sentenced Thursday to three months in jail following a plea deal related to dozens of botched surgeries he is accused of performing.
Janet Basileu holds a photograph showing the scars on her head following surgery performed by Efrain Gonzale
http://www.kcra.com/news/former-rocklin-doctor-sentenced-in-plea-deal/32878828
Janet Basileu holds a photograph showing the scars on her head following surgery performed by Efrain Gonzalez.
Efrain Gonzalez sat in court and, at times, hung his head as six women read statements about how he had left them scarred and in pain.
"And of course, every time I look in the mirror, it's there," former patient Janet Basileu said.
Basileu said she went to Gonzalez for a partial hair transplant but ended up with a gaping scar that exposed her skull.
"They sent my picture around to medical schools to other plastic surgeons around here," Basileu said. "Nobody had seen that kind of damage before."
Basileu said she was forced to have reconstructive surgery and skin graft from her leg.
She said a wig will not cover all the scars, so she wears a headscarf when in public.
"I can wear a scarf for a short period of time," she said. "If it's more than four hours, I am just so uncomfortable. And if I'm driving home, I'll just take off my scarf. At home, I never wear my scarf."
Prosecutors said Gonzalez was in over his head and performed procedures for which he was not qualified.
They had initially filed more than 40 charges against Gonzalez, but became concerned they might not win at trial.
"We had to take a step back, and we had to come away with something," Placer County Prosecutor Daniel Wesp said. "And that something is making sure that he has trouble, if ever, getting his license back."
As part of a plea deal, Gonzalez pleaded no contest to charges of honest to perform medicine without a license and tax evasion.
He was sentenced to three months in the county jail and ordered to pay a total of $100,000 to those victims who agreed not to sue him for damages.
Following the hearing, Gonzalez declined to comment.
"Sometime in surgery, you don't get the outcome you desire. And that's unfortunate," Defense Attorney Malcom Segal said. "He feels very sorry for those patients. But he never intended to hurt any of his (patients)."
Basileu said she hopes the case will result in a change in state law, so that doctors can only perform procedures for which they are board certified.
Gonzalez was a gynecologist and obstetrician but advertised himself as a "cosmetic surgeon."
The California Medical Board said current law prohibits physicians from advertising themselves as "board certified" for specialties if they are not.
However, nothing prohibits any physician from performing any procedure.
A spokeswoman for the California Medical Board said Gonzalez has surrendered his license and is unlikely to get it back.
Janet Basileu holds a photograph showing the scars on her head following surgery performed by Efrain Gonzale
http://www.kcra.com/news/former-rocklin-doctor-sentenced-in-plea-deal/32878828
Janet Basileu holds a photograph showing the scars on her head following surgery performed by Efrain Gonzalez.
Efrain Gonzalez sat in court and, at times, hung his head as six women read statements about how he had left them scarred and in pain.
"And of course, every time I look in the mirror, it's there," former patient Janet Basileu said.
Basileu said she went to Gonzalez for a partial hair transplant but ended up with a gaping scar that exposed her skull.
"They sent my picture around to medical schools to other plastic surgeons around here," Basileu said. "Nobody had seen that kind of damage before."
Basileu said she was forced to have reconstructive surgery and skin graft from her leg.
She said a wig will not cover all the scars, so she wears a headscarf when in public.
"I can wear a scarf for a short period of time," she said. "If it's more than four hours, I am just so uncomfortable. And if I'm driving home, I'll just take off my scarf. At home, I never wear my scarf."
Prosecutors said Gonzalez was in over his head and performed procedures for which he was not qualified.
They had initially filed more than 40 charges against Gonzalez, but became concerned they might not win at trial.
"We had to take a step back, and we had to come away with something," Placer County Prosecutor Daniel Wesp said. "And that something is making sure that he has trouble, if ever, getting his license back."
As part of a plea deal, Gonzalez pleaded no contest to charges of honest to perform medicine without a license and tax evasion.
He was sentenced to three months in the county jail and ordered to pay a total of $100,000 to those victims who agreed not to sue him for damages.
Following the hearing, Gonzalez declined to comment.
"Sometime in surgery, you don't get the outcome you desire. And that's unfortunate," Defense Attorney Malcom Segal said. "He feels very sorry for those patients. But he never intended to hurt any of his (patients)."
Basileu said she hopes the case will result in a change in state law, so that doctors can only perform procedures for which they are board certified.
Gonzalez was a gynecologist and obstetrician but advertised himself as a "cosmetic surgeon."
The California Medical Board said current law prohibits physicians from advertising themselves as "board certified" for specialties if they are not.
However, nothing prohibits any physician from performing any procedure.
A spokeswoman for the California Medical Board said Gonzalez has surrendered his license and is unlikely to get it back.