EXCLUSIVE: Manhattan OB/GYN scorches patient with lipo laser — sued for malpractice

An upper Manhattan OB/GYN severely scorched a Bronx mom during a laser liposuction procedure — and then tried to stop her from going to the hospital to treat her third-degree burns, the Daily News has learned.

Dr. Muruga Raj, 56, was found liable last month by a Bronx judge in a malpractice lawsuit filed in civil court by a 26-year-old woman left deformed and seriously scarred from the $8,000 procedure she underwent to trim the weight she gained after giving birth, court papers show.

And now a lawyer for the victim, whose name is being withheld by The News, is calling for the doctor's license to be revoked.

"He knew she was in agony and that her skin was dying, layer by layer by layer — yet he chose to lie and cover it up," said her attorney, Andrew Laskin. "That is what a fraudster does, not a medical doctor."

Raj performed the minimally-invasive procedure — which includes inserting a long prong into a patient's skin to burn fat cells with a laser — on the woman in Dec. 2011, just three months after she gave birth to her son.

Many patients prefer the procedure to traditional liposuction, because it offers less healing time, said Adriana Martino, who owns Skinney Medspa on the upper East Side.

"That's probably the main reason why someone would go to it," said Martino, whose company offers other non-invasive liposuction techniques that include ultrasound and radiofrequency alternatives.

"It's seen as a no-risk, non-invasive, in-and-out procedure."

The 26-year-old woman underwent skin grafting surgery to treat the severe burns left by Dr. Raj during a laser liposuction surgery.

The machines — such as the $150,000 Lipotherme model Raj bought from the Texas-based company Osyris Medical — can be sold to any doctor, including obstetricians and dentists, Martino said. But the procedures are typically done by cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists.

"It's hard to regulate what kind of doctor can operate it," Martino said. "I think it's more about the consumer being smart and reading about it."

Raj's purchase included a one-time mandatory training course, which he completed in Staten Island in 2008, court papers show.

Raj — who boasts a $1.1 million home in Ardsley — was interrupted at least once during the botched four-hour procedure to pay for a Chinese food order that arrived for him at the office, court papers show.

When they were done, Raj bandaged his patient and sent her home with medication — but she returned to the office the next day complaining of agonizing pain and swelling to her stomach and lower back.

Raj, who had quietly settled a lawsuit filed by another woman claiming she was burned by him during the same procedure in 2009, assured her that the wounds were not burns and gave her a cream to apply twice each day. But a few days later, the young mother passed out from excruciating pain and was rushed to a hospital.

However, she soon left when Raj told her on the phone that she didn't need emergency care and wanted to see her in his office right away, court papers allege. Once she arrived, Raj told the woman she looked "better" and gave her Silvadene cream — an ointment used to treat burns.

A civil judge found Dr. Muruga Raj, 56, liable in a malpractice lawsuit filed by a 26-year-old woman he allegedly burned during a laser liposuction procedure.

Fed up, the woman eventually got a second opinion with another doctor, who immediately sent her to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center to treat the severe burns. She underwent skin grafting surgery a few days later.

Worried that the woman might sue, Raj's wife and son allegedly sneaked into the hospital talk her out of considering legal action — claiming they were worried about supporting the doctor's two daughters in college.

But the mother, now scarred for the rest of her life, decided to take the case to court and is now waiting for the court to decide how much Raj will have to pay for butchering her.

Reached at his office by phone, Raj declined to comment on the case.

State authorities are weighing whether to strip Raj of his medical license.

"For that he will pay, and out of his own pocket," Laskin said. "Before he does this to someone else, the (state's Department of Health) must act to revoke his license to practice."

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