Surgeon sues Nine over 'maggot' report

A leading Sydney orthopaedic surgeon claims reports his patients were left with maggots in their skin or had to cut off a growth with a kitchen knife were false and defamatory.

In a Federal Court defamation suit launched on Friday, Dr Munjed Al Muderis says Nine engaged in a "campaign of denigration" against him, and fervently denied reports he offered substandard medical care to patients or left them wheelchair-bound or in excruciating pain.

He said the reports, jointly published on 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in September, have damaged his reputation through "sensational and tabloid-style" journalism which falsely claimed he engaged in unethical and dangerous surgery.

"The imputations carried by each of the matters amount to a direct attack on Al Muderis's competence, skill, ability and professionalism as a doctor," he said in documents filed with the court.

He said patients have cancelled their consultations and procedures after seeing Nine's reports, and that the number of paid speaking invitations he usually received had declined. 

The Australian Orthopaedic Association also rejected his application to the lower limb deformity and reconstruction fellowship because of Nine's publications, he said.

"(The) publication of each of the matters is likely to continue to cause harm to Al Muderis' reputation as a surgeon," he wrote.

As well as practising as a Sydney orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Al Muderis is also a researcher and clinical professor who has designed leg, foot and neck prosthetics.

He is president of the Iraqi Australasian Medical Association and founder of the Osseointegration Group of Australia, a non-profit which supports amputees. 

In 2020, he was named the NSW Australian of the Year.

According to the lawsuit, his philanthropic work includes providing free medical procedures to amputees and other patients in locations such as Baghdad, Palestine and Cambodia.

Nine's allegedly defamatory reports include the 60 Minutes broadcast "Cut to the Point" and articles in the SMH and The Age titled "Oozing and maggots: The stories one of Australian's most celebrated surgeons doesn't want you to hear".

Dr Al Muderis accused Nine of "reckless indifference to the truth and/or wilful blindness". He rejected statements allegedly made by the publisher that it had engaged in ethical, public interest journalism, or had conducted a proper investigation.

He is seeking damages, aggravated damages and special damages, alleging the publisher misled him prior to an interview, selectively edited the broadcasts to omit crucial information, and breached doctor-patient confidentiality.

Nine also failed to apologise or even respond to a concerns notice he sent on September 28, Dr Al Muderis said.

The lawsuit also seeks court orders forcing Nine to remove the publications from its website.

Journalists Charlotte Grieve, Tom Steinfort and Natalie Clancy have also been sued.