PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The state medical board has revoked an anesthesiologist’s license, saying he molested a patient undergoing knee surgery at Kent Hospital.

Two women have reported abuse by Dr. Russel Aubin, and state medical officials said there may be more victims.

Aubin’s license has been suspended since January, and he faces criminal charges of second-degree sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty in February.

The medical board revoked his license Thursday following a series of hearings held from February to August.

Aubin, 40, gave the 21-year-old Kent Hospital patient a spinal anesthesia, which allowed her to stay awake, and several drugs to help her relax. She testified that the surgery was already underway when he began to massage her neck and shoulders and then touched her breasts.

A curtain blocked Aubin and the patient’s upper body from the surgeon’s view during the December 2004 operation.

Aubin admitted massaging the woman’s neck and shoulders but said the patient fantasized the rest. He submitted several articles reporting incidents in which patients had sexual fantasies after receiving propofol, one of the drugs he used.

But an expert witness for the state, Miriam Hospital president Kathleen Hittner, an anesthesiologist, said those articles are based on anecdotes not scientific studies.

In addition, a second woman testified that Aubin molested her during a 2000 surgery on her wrist at a Massachusetts hospital. She said told police and hospital officials, but they took no action.

Dr. Robert Crausman, the medical board’s chief administrative officer, said the board took aggressive action in revoking Aubin’s license because of concern that more victims may exist.

The board rarely revokes doctors’ licenses – in part because most doctors surrender them when there’s strong evidence of unprofessional conduct.

—

Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.projo.com/

AP-ES-12-10-05 0742EST