Connecticut plastic surgeon Teresita Mascardo, MD, FACS, surrendered her physician's license and closed her surgery center in Ridgefield this week after the state attorney general's office reported that the surgical facility was unsafe and "unconscionably unclean."

During a routine inspection of the Connecticut Plastic Surgery Center on Nov. 30, state health officials found several unsafe practices such as single-use suture packages with blood on them that had been reclosed for use on other patients. The floors had dirt, animal droppings, blood and bodily fluids on them, and a trashcan in the recovery area was full of food, garbage and medical waste, including syringes. Inspectors also found severe rust in a sterilizer, no means to control drug distribution and no infection control program.

Additionally, the attorney general's office reported that Dr. Mascardo had hired an unlicensed anesthesia provider and performed surgery without nurses present.

"No amount of nip and tuck could repair the patient safety threat at this facility," said Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, in a statement. The attorney general and the state Department of Public Health were in the process of seeking permanent revocation Mascardo's license when the surgeon turned in her license.

Dr. Mascardo also performs surgery in New York, where she owns the Woman to Woman Cosmetic Surgery Center in Manhattan. Dr. Mascardo did not respond to messages left at her Ridgefield and Manhattan offices.

This is not the first time that Dr. Mascardo has been sanctioned. In 2007, she pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion. She paid a fine of $240,000, was put on probation for 5 years and was ordered to give free medical care to 100 needy patients, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. As a result of the federal conviction, Dr. Mascardo was prohibited from practicing medicine in New York for 3 months, fined $5,000 and required to offer community medical care.

The attorney general said that after the initial news reports of a temporary suspension of Dr. Mascardo's license on Dec. 4, former patients began calling. "My office received several disturbing complaints from former patients with serious allegations about slipshod surgeries that have caused lasting damage," says Mr. Blumenthal. "These allegations, many now in private litigation, substantiate our grave concerns."

Kent Steinriede