A doctor has been banned from practising medicine after breast cancer patients he performed substandard surgery on were left feeling “mutilated”.

A tribunal heard how Dr Thatipalli Gopal Krishna Mahadev lied on his job application before being hired as a consultant surgeon at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, where the botched procedures took place.

The 56-year-old has now been stripped of his medical licence after it was found his surgeries were poorly planned and executed - and he had failed to get proper consent from patients.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) heard that a patient from Dover who underwent a mastectomy performed by Mahadev was subsequently referred to a plastic surgeon because the results were so bad.

The woman, referred to as Patient B, was left with excess skin and a severely tethered scar which left her feeling “mutilated by the surgery”.

Mr Anthony Peel, a consultant general surgeon who gave evidence as an expert witness, said: “The standard of care provided by Dr Mahadev to Patient B was seriously below the standard expected of a consultant breast surgeon.

“The failure in planning the incision and the dissection technique in fashioning the mastectomy flaps, with the purpose of creating an even, flat scar, avoiding redundant skin and excess subcutaneous fat, actually resulted in Patient B being unable to wear her bra and prosthesis.”

Tribunal chair Mrs Tehniat Watson reached almost identical conclusions regarding another mastectomy and a revisional surgery for mastectomy scarring, also both performed in late 2019.

Mahadev did not attend any part of the month-long proceedings. When contacted by KentOnline after the tribunal, he expressed regret for the suffering felt by his patients - but rejected the MPTS’s findings.

“As a surgeon, if something goes wrong, it’s my responsibility. I am extremely sorry for any outcome that is not satisfactory to any patient,” he said.

“But I reject the tribunal’s findings because they have heard only one side of the story.”

Asked for his reaction to the MPTS’s conclusion that his surgical techniques were poor and he did not get proper consent from patients, Mahadev claimed that shortly after his appointment at the William Harvey, he was forced to take on several patients at short notice.

“They were introduced to me on the day of the surgery because of the management,” said Mahadev.

“As a consultant surgeon for over 10 years, I know what informed consent is. Everything was written down as per the rules and consented.”

During a review of Mahadev’s treatment of 11 William Harvey patients, the tribunal heard that he “displayed a broad spectrum of failings across his clinical practice”.

One breast cancer patient’s privacy was violated when the surgeon ordered her to be examined in a ladies’ toilet as there were no consultation rooms available at the time.

The MPTS also found that on five separate occasions, Mahadev failed to get informed consent from patients before they went under the knife.

In one instance, there was no written record of consent having been given, while at other times, not all of the risks relating to a procedure had been explained to patients, or people had not been given enough time to think.

The tribunal heard evidence from Patient C who said she was asked to sign a consent form for her surgery at the door of the operating theatre.

Mrs Watson accepted that this did not give the patient “necessary privacy nor provide adequate time to consider the treatment” and determined that the failure to obtain fully-informed consent amounted to misconduct.

A further question the MPTS asked was whether Mahadev got his job at William Harvey Hospital through lying.

It reviewed evidence that in applying to the East Kent Hospitals Trust (EKH) for the position in June 2019, he indicated that he was not the subject of any fitness-to-practice investigation.

But the chair found that Mahadev knew that he was being investigated at the time and was deliberately dishonest in his answer.

“The Tribunal also took the view that Dr Mahadev’s dishonesty put patients at a potential risk of harm,” said Mrs Watson.

“It misled the Trust, who became his employer, and did not allow them the opportunity to assess if action was needed for patient safety in light of the fitness to practise investigation that Dr Mahadev was subject to.”

When asked by KentOnline how and why EKH was unaware of concerns regarding Mahadev’s practice in the past, a spokesperson for the Trust said standard pre-employment checks were completed.

KentOnline understands that EKH received a reference from Mahadev’s previous employer but it relayed no concerns regarding his practice as a doctor.

The Trust was later advised by the General Medical Council (GMC) that it was investigating a complaint made two years prior, but that he remained fully registered to practice.

However, as Mahadev had not declared this complaint during the application process, this prompted an internal investigation by the Trust.

But Mahadev, who has ties to the Chatham area, resigned that December before it could conclude - just three months after starting work at the William Harvey.

Speaking on behalf of the GMC, which brought the case to the attention of the tribunal board, barrister Jade Bucklow said: “Following Dr Mahadev’s dishonesty in the course of his employment with the trust, he caused significant harm to patients before ‘disappearing’ and showing disregard for the regulatory process.”

The tribunal concluded the only appropriate and proportionate sanction was to erase Mahadev from the Medical Register.

Mahadev no longer lives in the UK or works in the field of medicine.

But commenting on the outcome of the tribunal, he claimed he had been targeted by an NHS conspiracy.

“The mismanagement of East Kent Hospitals by the leadership found me as a scapegoat for their failure,” said Mahadev.

He also boasted about various professional achievements - none of which could be verified by KentOnline - claiming that the investigation into his conduct resulted from others’ jealousy.

“Mediocrity is the name of the game in the NHS - it won’t exist by 2030,” he added.

“Personal jealousy and protecting fiefdoms - ruining people’s careers because they are better than you. Stealing, cheating, and lying are common in the NHS. Anyway, karma has its own way to deal with things.”

When asked why he did not attend proceedings or instruct a solicitor to represent him, Mahadev said: “Why waste precious time, energy and money on a foregone conclusion?”

Des Holden, EKH’s chief medical officer, told KentOnline: “Ensuring patients receive quality and safe care is our priority and we are very sorry that this was not the case for some patients treated under Dr Mahadev.

“After being employed with us for three months our team were made aware of concerns. He was immediately excluded, and he resigned before our investigations were complete.

“Our concerns were also passed onto the GMC to ensure this could not happen again.

“If any patients have concerns about their treatment we would encourage them to contact us.”