2/7/09 (NJ):
Anesthetic Drugs Can Cause Hallucinations, Says Dental Expert
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Oral surgery expert Dr. Raymond Fonseca has testified for the Defense in the civil trial of dentist Dr Joel P Kurtz.. Attorney Stephen Schechner called Fonseca to the stand to offer expert testimony on the notable, or "idiosyncratic," effects of anesthetic drugs in an attempt to discredit the accusers' claims.
A mixture of anesthetic drugs, notably if it involves ketamine, can cause hallucinations, bad moods and a misperception of touching or other stimulation as patients emerge from their slumber, he said.
The expert also stated that he doesn't cross the doorway to the recovery room at his practice in North Carolina ever since he read about Dr. Joel P. Kurtz' civil case.
"I felt I'd be putting myself at risk if I got close to the patient," he told a jury at Kurtz's trial in state Superior Court in Newton.
Fonseca was referring to the allegations in the civil trial of Kurtz, 64, who allegedly fondled plaintiff Amy Metzler, 24, of Sparta, and several other female patients at his Andover office, notably in the recovery room, in 2001-2003.
Four other plaintiffs settled their cases out of court during the trial, and four additional women have testified against Kurtz.
Detectives investigating the first allegations, by 17-year-old Maryjo Quirk, in 2001 told Kurtz that he probably shouldn't sit on cots with his female patients.
Kurtz has testified he continued the practice, during which he usually reassured the patient, spoke to her mother in the room and offered them safety advice regarding the lingering effects of anesthesia.
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