Ex-Plastic Surgeon Sentenced for Sexual Assault

Nov. 30, 2009 - PRLog -- After pleading no contest to two felony counts of sexually exploiting two patients, former board certified plastic surgeon Scott Takasugi was sentenced Monday to three years, eight months in state prison along with two years of probation.

Takasugi worked at Kaiser Permanente as a plastic surgeon in Sacramento, California. He surrendered his medical license on October 6, 2009. Takasugi will have to register as a sex offender in exchange for dropping 19 other felony charges. Takasugi was charged with fondling the genitalia of patients prior to surgery and taking inappropriate photographs of them. There were fourteen alleged victims.

Case files of plastic surgeons examined by the Trusted Surgeons Network, (http://www.trustedsurgeons.com), showed that Takasugi had 15 malpractice settlements made in 2007 and one in 2006. His high rate of malpractice settlements contrasts with the fact that on average, only 11% of California plastic surgeons have entered into a settlement since January 1, 2003. Fourteen percent of board certified plastic surgeons in Sacramento county have state medical citations.

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The Trusted Surgeons Network, http://www.trustedsurgeons.com, was founded in 2006 to research plastic surgeons and educate patients on the importance of making an informed decision before having surgery performed.