Emotional testimony Tuesday in Dallas anesthesiologist's IV tampering trial

Prosecutors began presenting their case in the federal IV tampering trial of a Richardson anesthesiologist with emotional testimony from one of the alleged victims.

Investigators claim that in 2022 Raynoldo Ortiz injected IV bags with dangerous drugs that led to one woman's death and serious health emergencies for other patients at Baylor Scott and White Surgicare in North Dallas.

Fellow anesthesiologist Dr. Melanie Kaspar died in June 2022 after taking an IV bag home to rehydrate when she wasn’t feeling well.

EMOTIONAL TESTIMONY TUESDAY

On Tuesday, jurors heard from an alleged victim who described going under the knife for liposuction and a facelift on August 4, 2022, only to wake up intubated and in a different hospital.

The 57-year-old Plano mother of three testified about the procedure that was expected to be completed in a few hours. Instead, she spent several days in a hospital in the ICU.

“I could feel it. I was intubated,” said the woman to the jury. “I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to choke to death.”

Following our report Tuesday, the patient’s daughter asked NBC 5 to no longer name her mother in reports saying her mother did not want to relive the traumatic experience.

The patient has since agreed to settle with Baylor Scott & White.

The woman is one of five patients who suffered cardiac emergencies at the clinic between May and August 2022.

FORMER CLINIC ADMINISTRATOR TESTIFIES

The clinic's former administrator, Ashley Burks, testified about installing security cameras around the complex after a few security incidents in May of 2022.

The registered nurse told jurors they had been trying desperately to figure out why so many patients had been experiencing emergencies, many needing to be transported to the hospital.

Burks testified that in all of 2021, they transported five patients to the hospital needing a higher level of care.

That number shot up to 14 patients needing transfers between May and August of 2022. Ortiz, however, is not blamed for every transfer case.

Burks testified they could not find similarities in the cases involving cardiac emergencies, she said, including whether the patients were all vaccinated against COVID-19, and whether the incidents happened in the same operating room (they did not).

Burks also checked drug recall lists and had anesthesia machines serviced.

Burks faced questions from both the prosecution and defense surrounding video clips entered into evidence showing staff, including Ortiz, accessing a warming bin full of IV bags and vials.

Defense attorneys had Burks acknowledge it was not completely unusual for doctors, like Ortiz, to open the bin to retrieve IV bags.

It is important to note that IV bags were stored in two locations on the premises.

The bags are supposed to be used within 14 days, but Burks says that is never an issue as they go through them very quickly.

The date was written on bags before being placed in the bin, but they are not tracked and there is no registry of which bag is going to which patient.

The bin, Burks acknowledged for the defense, stores both regular saline bags and IV bags containing other drugs, admitting while it’s standard practice it may not be ‘the best practice.’

Instructed to describe what she saw in one video clip, Burks acknowledged she saw Ortiz access the bin with a syringe in his hand. However, none of the dozens of video clips actually show Ortiz injecting the bags with anything.

Burks tearfully recalled the final incident allegedly linked to Ortiz on August 24, 2022. “It was devastating,” she said.

An 18-year-old ‘crashed’ during surgery. Staff rushed in and began doing chest compressions until paramedics arrived.

Burks said she called the center’s governing chair and said “Something’s got to give. This needs to stop.”

A doctor handed Burks the patient’s IV bag cover and warned her not to lose it.

Later, Burks testified they looked at the bag closely and were stunned. “We found that there was a hold in it,” testified Burks. “It was tiny.”

Prosecutors had Burks hold the alleged bag in question, during her testimony.

She confirmed it was the same bag and pointed out the small puncture at the bottom for jurors to see.

Prosecutors used a projector in court to allow jurors, the judge and the public to see the bag and hole.

Burks said it looked like a needle had been used to puncture the bag. “We were just so stunned,” she said.

Burks immediately canceled all planned procedures and the facility closed in August for further investigations that would now involve federal authorities.

Suspicious incidents reportedly happened at SurgiCare between May and August of 2022, although there were no emergencies in July, according to testimony.

Ortiz was on vacation, but only during part of that month.

PLASTIC SURGEON TESTIFIES ABOUT 'DRAMATIC EVENT'

Longtime plastic surgeon Dr. William Carpentar also took the stand Tuesday.

Carpenter described a “dramatic event” during a routine procedure where a 61-year-old woman’s blood pressure “suddenly and without explanation,” “out of the blue” began to shoot up from a systolic reading of 110 to 180. The anesthesiologist in this case, not Ortiz, managed to get the woman’s blood pressure back down to a normal range.

The patient spent the night in the clinic and was transported to the hospital the following day after her blood pressure was ‘low.’

TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD MEMBER TESTIFIES

Federal prosecutors also called Dr. Christopher Palazola of the Texas Medical Board to the witness stand Tuesday.

The board oversees licensing, education, and discipline in the state and receives approximately 8,500 complaints every year.

Palazola testified about two investigations launched against Ortiz, unrelated to the current allegations.

One case was resolved in 2018 with a public reprimand and a $2,000 penalty. A second case against Ortiz was resolved in August 2022.

Less than 1,000 doctors in the state have two or more complaints against them, Palazola testified.

Despite disciplinary action that could have prevented Ortiz from practicing medicine, he was allowed to continue.

Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to 10 federal charges related to tampering and altering IV bags. If convicted, he faces life in prison.