<p>A doctor mentored by Indian- origin surgeon Jayant Patel, who is facing trial for manslaughter, today told an Australian court that her former boss should not have removed part of the bowel of a patient who later died.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Patel, 62, the former director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of 75-year-old Mervyn Morris, who died in June 2003, three weeks after the major surgery.<br /><br />Emma Igras, Patel's junior at the time, told his Supreme Court trial earlier this month that the surgery was not justified and should not have been done.<br /><br />Lawyer of Patel, Paul Smith cross-examined Igras today and asked her if she had given that opinion at any of the previous times she had given evidence to a Commission of Inquiry or Patel's first trial.<br /><br />Igras said no.She told the Judge George Fryberg that she had only formed the opinion "relatively recently", after hearing there was to be a retrial but before she had been contacted about it.<br /><br />Igras said she was more experienced as a surgeon now, so felt more comfortable giving an opinion.<br /><br />She told the court she refused to give the defence her CV when they asked for it.<br />Smith said "I suggest to you that whilst you are a qualified surgeon, your experience in rural health is reasonably limited".<br /><br />Igras disagreed, saying she had done 18 months' worth of rural placements as a surgeon at towns such as Bundaberg, Griffith, Broken Hill, Gladstone and Armidale.<br />She graduated as a doctor in 1999 and completed general surgical training after that.<br /><br />Igras is currently training to be a specialist breast and endocrine surgeon.</p>
<p>A doctor mentored by Indian- origin surgeon Jayant Patel, who is facing trial for manslaughter, today told an Australian court that her former boss should not have removed part of the bowel of a patient who later died.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Patel, 62, the former director of surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of 75-year-old Mervyn Morris, who died in June 2003, three weeks after the major surgery.<br /><br />Emma Igras, Patel's junior at the time, told his Supreme Court trial earlier this month that the surgery was not justified and should not have been done.<br /><br />Lawyer of Patel, Paul Smith cross-examined Igras today and asked her if she had given that opinion at any of the previous times she had given evidence to a Commission of Inquiry or Patel's first trial.<br /><br />Igras said no.She told the Judge George Fryberg that she had only formed the opinion "relatively recently", after hearing there was to be a retrial but before she had been contacted about it.<br /><br />Igras said she was more experienced as a surgeon now, so felt more comfortable giving an opinion.<br /><br />She told the court she refused to give the defence her CV when they asked for it.<br />Smith said "I suggest to you that whilst you are a qualified surgeon, your experience in rural health is reasonably limited".<br /><br />Igras disagreed, saying she had done 18 months' worth of rural placements as a surgeon at towns such as Bundaberg, Griffith, Broken Hill, Gladstone and Armidale.<br />She graduated as a doctor in 1999 and completed general surgical training after that.<br /><br />Igras is currently training to be a specialist breast and endocrine surgeon.</p>