“I operate”: doctor makes a court appearance in Zoom during his operation California

California medical authorities have said they will investigate a plastic surgeon who appeared on video conference for a traffic violation trial during his operation.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Scott Green appeared Thursday for his trial in Sacramento Superior Court, which was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, from an operating room.

He was dressed in surgical scrubs with a patient undergoing surgery just out of sight; beeps from medical machines can be heard in the background.

“Hello, Mr. Green?” Hi. Are you available for a trial? A courtroom clerk asked as an officer called to appear at the trial raised his eyebrows. “Looks like you’re in an operating room right now?”

“I am, sir,” Green replied. “Yes, I am currently in an operating room. Yes, I am available for a trial. Go for it.”

The clerk reminded Green that the proceedings were being broadcast live because road trials are required by law to be open to the public, and Green said he understood. He appeared to continue working with his head down as he waited for Tribunal Commissioner Gary Link to enter the bedroom.

When Link appeared and saw the doctor on the screen, the judge was reluctant to continue the trial for the sake of the patient’s well-being.

“I have another surgeon here doing the surgery with me so I can stand here and allow them to do the surgery as well,” Green said.

The judge said he didn’t think it was appropriate to hold a trial under the circumstances. He told Green he preferred to set a new date for the trial “when you are not actively involved or participating and meeting a patient’s needs”.

Green apologized.

“Sometimes surgery doesn’t always go like…” he said before the judge interrupted him.

Link said, “It happens. We want to keep people healthy, we want to keep them alive. It is important.”

The California Medical Council said it would look into the incident, saying it “expects doctors to follow the standard of care when treating their patients.”

A call requesting comment from Green was not returned.