Dallas Anesthesiologist Arrested And Facing Federal Charges For Contaminating IV Bags That Lead To The Death Of Another Doctor

An anesthesiologist was arrested after there was suspicion of him contaminating IV bags at a surgical center in North Dallas.

On September 14th, Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz, 59, was arrested and faces federal charges regarding a criminal complaint. It alleges that he tampered with a consumer product causing death and intentional drug adulteration.

for the death of a doctor from Baylor Scott & white in North Dallas and for injuries to many other patients.

Ortiz allegedly injected nerve blocking agents and other drugs into patient IV bags. This resulted in the death of Dr. Melanie Kaspar, a 55-year-old anesthesiologist at Baylor Scott & White in North Dallas. Her autopsy states she died from a lethal dose of bupivacaine.

The contaminated IV also caused cardiac emergencies for several patients.

In August, an 18-year-old patient had a cardiac emergency during routine sinus surgery and had to be transferred to an intensive care unit. There was a chemical analysis of the saline bag used during his surgery and it revealed to have contained bupivacaine, the stimulant epinephrine and the topical anesthetic lidocaine, drugs that could have caused the patient’s sudden symptoms, according to prosecutors.

The surgical center staff noticed a pattern of intentional adulteration of IV bags used at the center. They identified 10 additional unexpected cardiac emergencies. They concluded that was an exceptional high rate of complications in such a short period of time.

The complaint alleges that all of the incidents occurred around the time Ortiz performed services at the facility, but none happened while he was on vacation.

A video was also captured of Ortiz walking fast to an IV bag warmer and then placing a bag inside. You can see him looking around suspiciously and then quickly walking away. Just an hour later a 56-year-old woman suffered a cardiac emergency during a scheduled cosmetic surgery after a bag from the warmer was used during her procedure, according to the complaint.

If Ortiz is convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison. He remains in the Dallas County Jail without bond.