Hospital accused of grilling surgeon about her sex life after she removed ‘foreign object’ from patient’s rectum, lawsuit says

NEW YORK — Law enforcement officers are not the only people to be firsthand witnesses to the bizarre circumstances of life. Medical personnel also see their fair share of eccentric “issues.”

One such case is now the central theme in a lawsuit filed by a doctor formerly of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. The colorectal surgeon says hospital administrator’s grilled her sex life and accused her of violating a patient’s privacy after she helped save a man with a “large foreign object” stuck in his rectum, she contends in a new lawsuit, according to the New York Post.

Dr. Deborah Keller said other physicians struggled to assist the man with an irregular problem during the medical dilemma, which occurred in February 2020.  Hence, the colorectal surgeon was called in multiple times to offer her expertise and finally helped successfully extract the unidentified item from the patient’s back side.

However, instead of praising her for the procedure, Keller, 41, claims the next day she was “interrogated” by hospital administrators who “sexualized” the object as a “dildo,” and questioned whether she was having sex with the male surgeon in charge of the patient’s care. The hospital also claims that Keller violated the patient’s privacy by circulating an image of the object.

Keller was subsequently placed on administrative leave following the inquiry. Her lawsuit against the hospital was filed in Manhattan Federal Court.

After Surgeon Dr. Deborah Keller helped remove an object from a man’s rectum, hospital administration reportedly interrogated her sex life and placed her on administrative leave. (Image via New York Post)

According to Keller’s civil action, the inquisition by the hospital’s internal hearing committee was “demeaning and embarrassing.” She declined to discuss the object and claims doctors “don’t really know” what the “massive” missile-shaped item was, the Post reported.

“They kept using inappropriate terms for the foreign [object], it was just getting contentious and questions that just didn’t have anything to do with the practice of medicine or patient care or colorectal surgery, making what I do seem like a joke,” Keller said.

The male doctor in charge of the patient’s case, Mark Kiely, had reportedly received the patient’s permission to take photos and videos of the incident for educational purposes, Keller said in court papers. She said she prepped for surgery and was not involved in picture taking.

Kiely solicited Keller’s assistance “due to her recognized expertise,” she said in court papers.

Kiely was never interviewed regarding the series of events, although he was initially suspended before being reinstated. Keller denied having a sexual relationship with her colleague.

Keller believes she was targeted due to eight prior complaints of gender discrimination she had filed against her boss, New York-Presbyterian Chief of Colorectal Surgery Pokala Ravi Kiran.

Kiran allegedly slammed the surgeon as “a problem, emotional, not someone to work with,” she charges in the complaint.

The hospital claims Keller was notified the hospital wouldn’t renew her contract prior to the incident in question.

According to the Keller, the hospital administrators submitted false reports about the episode to the National Practitioner Data Bank, leaving a “black mark” on her reputation and making it impossible for her to get another job as a surgeon, the Post reported.

“They are literally trying to ruin my career,” she said, as she now works as a researcher and assistant professor in California.

“It’s vicious in a way that we very rarely see,” said Keller’s attorney George Vallas.

The Post was unsuccessful seeking comment from either Kiran or Kiely. Furthermore, New York-Presbyterian did not return a message seeking comment.

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