Plastic surgeon, 48, had a one-night stand with his patient after giving her a breast enlargement to get 'her sexiness back', tribunal hears

• e-mail

Dr Renato Zaccheddu, pictured outside the tribunal hearing in Manchester today, had been invited by the woman for a meal in his steakhouse near his clinic as a 'thank you' for the successful procedure

A plastic surgeon had a one-night stand with a patient after she underwent breast enhancement surgery with a pledge he would get 'her sexiness back,' a tribunal heard today.

Dr Renato Zaccheddu, 48, had been invited by the woman for a meal at a steakhouse near his clinic as a 'thank you' for the successful procedure.

Afterwards it is claimed the pair went back to his hotel for a bottle of red wine and sex, it was claimed.

The patient who is her 30s later lodged a complaint against the doctor claiming he made her feel 'uncomfortable' in their medical appointments and saying he was using them to get close to her.

During a subsequent investigation by the General Medical Council it emerged the woman known as Patient A suffered from depression, plus binge eating and body dysmorphia issues.

Zaccheddu who was working at the time at the Transform clinic in Manchester admitted having sex with the woman - but she said no physical contact took place between them. 

She is now refusing to testify against the doctor who trained in Italy and Brazil.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service was told the pair initially met in 2013 when she asked for breast augmentation surgery only for him to refuse citing her poor skin.

GMC lawyer Louise Kitchin told the Manchester hearing: 'The procedure was performed by another doctor but Patient A was unsatisfied with the result of the surgery to her breasts and labia and consulted Dr Zacchedu again in 2017.

'He agreed to undertake remedial cosmetic surgery but tests showed Patient A was pregnant and he refused to carry out the procedure.

Dr Renato Zaccheddu, pictured undertaking a procedure, was working at the time at the Transform clinic in Manchester

'He asked what she planned to do about the pregnancy and expressed surprise that she had a boyfriend and offered her his telephone number to reschedule the surgery.

Miss Kitchin said they exchanged a series of texts between May 2018 and July 2018, at times referring to her as 'babe'

The surgery was re-booked for July 15, 2018, but during a pre-operative the patient felt uncomfortable when carried out his pre-operative markings, the tribunal heard. 

She added: 'Following her discharge, she received a text message asking about recovery from surgery and messages were exchanged between them. He was telling her she was a 'beautiful girl' and he would give her her 'sexiness back'.

'She saw him again for a post-operative appointment, during the appointment he examined her labia without a chaperone, she describes feeling uncomfortable. 

'He had commented on her vagina piercings and enquired about her boyfriend, at the end of the appointment he hugged and kissed her and although that was on the cheek she felt at the time he was going to kiss her on the lips.'

The tribunal heard that Patient A texted Dr Zacchedu and said 'I owe you a nice meal' and they met at the Grill on New York Street, in Manchester in August 2018. 

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service was told Dr Zaccheddu and Patient A initially met in 2013 when she asked for breast augmentation surgery only for him to refuse citing her poor skin

Miss Kitchin added: 'After meeting Dr Zaccheddu she went with him to the Malmaison Hotel where he was staying. They continued to drink whilst in the bar, he then invited her to his hotel room. 

'She said she declined the invitation and she stated during the evening there has been no physical contact.

'The following day he contacted her about the appointment for post-operative treatment but she responded by telling him he had been unprofessional, made her feel uncomfortable asking her to go to his room she felt was wrong.'

The tribunal heard in his account Dr Zaccheddu accepted he made a number of errors and the text messages were an attempt to help the patient, but accepted over time they became more friendly.

Miss Kitchin added: 'He said she initiated the contact and as the messages went on they became more flirtatious she invited him to meet her at the Grill and afterwards they both went to his hotel. 

'She bought a bottle of red wine from the bar and then suggested that they go to his room, he accepted that they had gone to his hotel room and sexual intercourse had taken place.

'Afterwards he had contacted Patient A to tell her she had left a pair of earrings and agreed to return them. But some weeks later, she sent a text message asking him not to contact her again and she would feel uncomfortable meeting him again.

'He recognised he had made a serious mistake meeting her socially and didn't contact her again once she had asked him not to do so.

'In response to inappropriate comments he explained following her consultation procedure he was surprised at the results of the pregnancy test and enquiries about the male accompanying her only because she had repeatedly stated she was unable to have a relationship with anyone because of embarrassment with her body and particularly her breasts.

'He had agreed he had conducted examinations in contravention of GMC and hospital group policy on the presence of chaperones. He accepted he had touched her breasts and labia area but it wasn't in any way sexual or inappropriate.'

Miss Kitchin added: 'Patient A was invited by the GMC to attend a meeting on 11th December and she denied there had been any sexual contact between her and Dr Zacchetu. She said she didn't want him to get into trouble but she didn't want anyone else to experience what she had gone through.

'A case notes review of Patient A's medical file showed she suffered from depression in 2016 and had attended her GP's surgery in relation to feelings of anxiety about her upcoming surgery, body dysmorphia and binge eating. 

'In the pre-operative assessment for her surgery in 2018 she declared a history of depression stating '2016' with a cross sign next to it.'

Zacchetu, from Edgbaston, Birmingham, told the hearing: 'It was obvious what she was facing every day in the mirror was a bad distortion of her breasts and it was obvious it would affect her life. 

'I thought I was in a position to help her that was a strong feeling within myself, that is why I agreed to undertake this operation.

'I might have been aware of some history of depression but she wasn't showing me any sign of mental instability during the consultation. She was absolutely logical and making sense in what she was saying. She was really adamant about having the operation as soon as possible.

'I told she should try to get in touch with us and for the process to be sped up 'I will give you my phone number and then you. Let me know when everything is done'. We were trying everything to make things happen more quickly.

'But slowly the conversation started becoming a little bit more friendly in that month, not that we texted a lot but It was a little bit more friendly.

'Eventually we started talking about 'Are you ok?', 'What have you done today?'.

'She was very happy, extremely happy she got emotional finally at the end of this journey that lasted a few years, she finally could look at herself in the mirror she was really happy that was her main feeling.

'She came out and said I need to offer you a drink or something as a kind of being thankful. 

'She was very happy and it had changed her life and she was offering to meet up and by July and August it started getting more friendly and more flirty. 

'She was a really begging person and a I had a human urge to help someone in difficulty. She had been feeling down and I tried to give her a little bit of confidence.

'She was a patient with a problem obviously, she was a vulnerable girl but it wasn't in my conscious mind.'

Zaccheddu denies sexually motivated misconduct towards the woman during medical procedures.

The hearing continues.