Nevada doctor says vendor OK'd needle guide reuse

[March 24, 2011]  LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A Nevada urologist accused of improperly reusing needle guides during biopsies says he did it based on instructions from a vendor.

Lawyers for Dr. Michael Kaplan say in a half-page ad in the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the doctor was told reusing the plastic guides was perfectly safe. The ad Wednesday says the Henderson doctor stopped the practice the moment a question arose.

The Southern Nevada Health District says it doesn't know whether any diseases were transmitted, but it is notifying more than 100 patients who had a prostate biopsy from Dec. 20 to March 11 that they should get tested for HIV and hepatitis.

The Nevada Board of Medical Examiners says Kaplan ordered staff to reuse the guides three to five times. His license was suspended Monday.

[Associated Press]

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