Plastic surgeon being sued for losing nipples

Thirteen patients have active malpractice suits against the head of plastic surgery at a prestigious Bronx hospital, The Post has learned. They include a woman who claims Dr. Berish Strauch lost her nipple during breast-reduction surgery and another who says he removed her navel in a tummy tuck. "I just hope you can save some others because this man has to be stopped," said 67-year-old Elizabeth DeCarlo of Strauch, chairman of plastic and reconstructivesurgery at Montefiore. DeCarlo said he removed so much of her skin he didn't have enough to form a belly button. She added she's lucky she's alive - because she turned blue during the five-hour operation, which should have taken half as long. DeCarlo suggested that Strauch, 72, pack up his medical bag. "It's finished. It's time," she said. "Come on. You can't be maiming people." Strauch's lawyer, Frank Bastone, and a spokesman for Montefiore said they could not comment on pending litigation. But Bastone said no jury has ever found against his client and declined to comment on whether any cases against the doctor had been settled out of court.

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