Vet who cashed in by performing needless hip operations on dogs ‘for financial gain’ gets struck off
- Dr Marthinus Ryk Botes subjected dogs to unnecessary hip surgery for money
- He operated on 3 animals without consulting owners about other treatments
- Dr Botes had been a senior partner at the Medivet practice in Grays, Kent
A vet has been struck off after performing unnecessary hip surgery on dogs for financial gain.
Dr Marthinus Ryk Botes, an orthopaedic specialist, operated on three animals without consulting their owners about other treatments.
A cocker spaniel, a Staffordshire bull terrier and a West Highland terrier and akita cross were all subjected to the needless total hip replacement procedures in 2016 and 2017.
A vet has been struck off after performing unnecessary hip surgery on dogs for financial gain (stock photo used)
Dr Botes, who was a senior partner at the Medivet practice in Grays, Kent, also recommended the operation for a fourth dog.
He was found culpable of seven charges by a disciplinary panel last month and has been struck off the veterinary register.
The panel at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons said the operations were a ‘source of financial gain’.
It concluded that Dr Botes’s failings were ‘wide-ranging’ and breached ‘the basic and fundamental requirements of a veterinary surgeon’.
Dr Botes qualified from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 1990 and he joined the Medivet practice in 2013.
He was suspended for six months in 2008 for serious professional misconduct when a Yorkshire terrier died after he left the injured dog alone in a surgery overnight.
A cocker spaniel (not pictured), a Staffordshire bull terrier and a West Highland terrier and akita cross were all subjected to the needless total hip replacement procedures
‘The committee took into account that the total hip replacements in question were a source of financial gain, that Dr Botes’ conduct was repeated over a considerable period of time and that he was in an increased position of trust and responsibility because of perceived expertise in small animal orthopaedics and its education,’ the panel said in its decision.
They also said there was a risk of repetition of Dr Botes’s behaviour.
Dr Botes had also been suspended in the late 1990s in South Africa after disciplinary proceedings.
He is renowned for his pioneering work in small animal surgeries and led a team that opened a centre of excellence in orthopaedics in 2019.
In an account published by the VetRecord Careers website in 2018, Dr Botes said he felt like a ‘failure’ early on in his career and said: ‘When you’re inexperienced, bad habits can creep into your work’.
He also admitted to practising hip replacements on cadavers using woodwork tools from a local DIY store.
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