Police in Lexington, Ky. arrested a plastic surgeon Monday after he showed up intoxicated to perform surgery, reported WKYT.
Dr. Theodore Gerstle was taken into custody Monday afternoon and charged with public intoxication after the hospital had received a report from fellow staff about Gerstle's condition.
Ruth Ann Childers, a spokeswoman for Baptist Health Lexington, said after the chief medical officer confronted Gerstle about being intoxicated, he decided to flee the hospital on foot. That's when police were called by the hospital administration.
“Patient safety is always our number one concern, every day," Childers said in a statement. "We take these things very seriously and it will be thoroughly investigated."
The Lexington Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery website lists Dr. Gerstle as being a physician at the practice. He specializes in treating migraine headaches, according to the website. Other procedures performed by Gerstle include facial rejuvenation, breast surgery, body contouring and other reconstructive surgeries.
According to Childers, the doctor's practicing privileges at Baptist Health Lexington have been suspended and he will not be allowed to work there until an investigation into the matter has been conducted, and the issue resolved.
Childers told WKYT that Gerstle only had one procedure scheduled for Monday and it had yet to begin when he was confronted about allegedly being drunk.
Source: nydailynews.com
