Canadian Plastic Surgeon Accused Of Filming Patients In Exposed Positions

Dr. Martin Jugenburg is a forty-five-year-old Canadian plastic surgeon who stands accused of recording patients illegally. According to a report, the plastic surgeon was filming patients who had come to the clinic situated at the Toronto Royal York Hotel.

Jugenburg who has the nickname "Dr. 6ix" faces a disciplinary panel. He stands accused of even posting images of some of the private parts of patients online, New York Post reported.

The disciplinary committee is looking into the accusation against Dr. Jugenburg, including permitting film crews to capture breast augmentation surgery without the patient's consent.

Carolyn Silver is a lawyer who spoke to the panel explaining that the case against Jugenburg was based on the "repeated breaches of his patient's privacy" and also for not upholding patients' confidentiality.

The lawyer also said that the case was not only about Dr. Jugenburg's patients but others who had gone to the downtown Toronto clinic to see other doctors who used the same office space.

On Wednesday, Jugenburg's lawyer informed the disciplinary panel that his client's clinic admitted to committing professional misconduct. However, the lawyer indicated the doctor denied all other charges against him.

Dr. Jugenburg explained that he would never allow a filming crew to film a surgery if the patient had not given consent. In hindsight, he said he should have obtained written consent from the patients.

According to the charges against the doctor, twenty-four cameras were put up in the clinic in 2017. Two signs, one in the lobby the other in the operating room, told patients about the cameras and one was not very visible.

Patients were not notified that encounters, procedures and consultations would be recorded or that the doctor could access the recordings on his phone via an app. The recordings seen by the regulators showed that the patient's "breasts, buttocks, and genitals" were exposed.

Dr. Jugenburg, in 2018, sent emails to patients saying the installed cameras were for security purposes. In 2020, he was instructed by the regulator to take down the cameras in all vantage points that exposed the patients.

The hearing is set to proceed in July.