— The attorney of an area surgeon says that although a Tulsa hospital suspended his client’s medical privileges, Dr. George Cohlmia has performed thousands of successful, life-saving surgeries during his decades-long career.

On Friday, a federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of Cohlmia’s lawsuit against St. John Medical Center, which had taken the action. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed down the decision in a lawsuit filed by Cohlmia, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon.

Cohlmia now practices in Tahlequah and has formed a joint venture with Tahlequah City Hospital.

Mike Barkett, a Tulsa attorney representing Cohlmia, said Wednesday that the federal lawsuit was filed back in 2005 in an “honest and sincere attempt to protect (Cohlmia’s) rights and defend his good name.”

“(Cohlmia) genuinely believes the evidence presented in the case supported his claims; in fact, the vast majority of his claims were settled favorably to him back in 2009,” said Barkett. “The few remaining claims addressed by the 10th Circuit appellate court’s recent order were the only ones that were not previously settled, and they were not heard by a jury.”

St. John’s suspended Cohlmia’s medical privileges following a pair of surgeries in June 2003 on patients who had been diagnosed with lung cancer. One of the patients died a week after the surgery and the other was permanently disfigured, according to the appellate court’s decision.

The hospital suspended Cohlmia’s medical privileges after conducting an inquiry into both cases.

Cohlmia then filed a federal lawsuit to request a formal hearing to respond to the hospital’s concerns, but U.S. District Judge Thomas R. Brett ruled in favor of the hospital and dismissed the suit.

Barkett said the two surgeries mentioned in court documents involved ill patients with advanced-stage lung cancer. Those surgeries, by nature, can result in disfigurement and are often the last hope to extend the life of cancer patients, Barkett said.

“Doctors can, and often do, disagree about the way to perform surgeries, and Dr. Cohlmia presented highly-regarded experts that supported his decisions and performance of those two surgeries,” said Barkett. “The fact is, neither of those two surgeries resulted in any medical malpractice claims against Dr. Cohlmia; in fact, Dr. Cohlmia has never been found to have committed malpractice in any court of law.”

According to records on the case in question, after the surgeries, a St. John administrator conducted a review to determine if physician error occurred. He interviewed a pathologist, a thoracic surgeon, the medical oncologist who had treated one of the patients, and a pulmonologist. The physician concluded “there was an inadequate workup” before the operations.

Cohlmia requested a formal hearing to respond, but then-U.S. District Judge Thomas R. Brett said St. John’s was justified in suspending Cohlmia’s medical and surgical privileges, court documents state.

Brett found Cohlmia’s actions, in the case of the patient who died, demonstrated “a lack of sound medical judgment” and a “marked deviation from the recognized standard of care,” the documents indicate.

The judge said Cohlmia’s “failure to employ extensive workup and staging” before the surgery of the disfigured patient “reflected a gross deviation in medical judgment.”

Cohlmia has a 30-year history as a surgeon and physician, which Barkett said is “commendable.”

“Dr. Cohlmia has been the surgeon of choice for other physicians and their family members. He is well-known for providing care to people that other surgeons have turned away due to their financial situation or advanced medical condition,” said Barkett. “You will simply not find a more qualified, skilled and compassionate surgeon in the state of Oklahoma. A dispute about two advanced-stage lung cancer surgeries in 2003 cannot erase all the good he has done for so many patients and their families over three decades.”

Cohlmia has found a home at TCH, and Barkett said the doctor loves to serve patients from the area.

“The development of the state-of-the-art cardiovascular surgery center at TCH has benefited and will continue to benefit residents of this area who previously did not have direct access to such high-quality care,” he said. “Whatever may happen with the 2005 lawsuit, Dr. Cohlmia intends to continue his commitment of serving patients with the highest level of quality, skill and compassion and at TCH.”

According to a spokeswoman for TCH, Cohlmia began his practice here in 2005 and remains in good standing with the medical staff.



The Associated Press contributed to this story.