VA Board of Medicine: License Permanently Revoked
In an order dated August 20, 2009, the Virginia Board of Medicine permanently revoked the medical license of Dr. Rolando M. Chavez. Chavez was a urologist in Richlands, VA at the Southwest Virginia Medical Center.
The instant action causing the revocation was Dr. Chavez’s treatment of Patient A, a 75-year-old male with a history of radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Patient A was seen by Dr. Chavez thirteen times between October 2004 and October 2006 and complained of hematuria (blood in the urine) and irritating voiding symptoms (discomfort during urination).
According to the disciplinary order “despite the patient’s history, symptoms, and a finding of atypical cells during a urine cytology taken in October 2004, Dr. Chavez failed during this period to order appropriate diagnostic tests to determine the cause of the patient’s hematuria.” In December 2006 Patient A was found to have high-grade muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma, a highly aggressive cancer with a very bad prognosis.
Dr. Chavez retired from practicing medicine in July 2008.
Here is the full Virginia Board of Medicine Disciplinary Order for Rolando M. Chavez.
Read more about Dr. Chavez’s failure to administer appropriate tests.