Quebec threatens Montreal surgeon with sanctions, criminal charges for procedure she's done for over a decade

Dr. Marie Gdalevitch isn't sure if she will have to move her practice out of the province.

For 15 years she's been performing osteotomy, or limb lengthening surgery, in Quebec as both the Chief of Orthopedics at the Verdun Hospital and with a private practice. The procedure involves inserting a metal rod known as a nail into a patient's bone marrow and slowly unscrewing it to have the bone heal in a longer way. The surgery can be used in cases of dwarfism and deformity, but can also be a cosmetic surgery to add a maximum of 8 centimeters to a person's height.

"In Canada this is a very niche specialty," Gdalevitch told CTV News, "in each province, there's probably one person doing a little bit of pediatrics, but for adult deformities and functional problems there aren't many."

Her Quebec patients receive the procedure through the public system, those from out-of-province use her private clinic but the surgery was in a grey zone when it came to Quebec's list of approved private procedures.

"There were urological procedures and spine procedures that have been done in the last 15 years, including osteotomy, that weren't on the list and people were sort of tolerating it," she said.

Quebec recently updated its list and despite an endorsement from the Quebec Orthopedic Association, limb lengthening was not included. It left Gdalevitch reeling.

"The Quebec Orthopedic Association agrees with being able to do this, agrees with being able to do deformity correction, limb lengthening, and even stature lengthening. Between the Collège des Medecins and the Health Ministry it's unclear who took the final decision but somebody there does not agree with this for reasons that I still don't understand."

On Nov. 18, she received a letter from the provincial government warning her if she doesn't cease operations she could face sanctions or even criminal charges. "They've given me a very strict warning that this could be something that they would take me to criminal court for," she said.

She's now has to postpone patients who were scheduled to go under the knife in January. She was fully booked until May and now many of her patients are wondering what might happen to their dates. Some of whom have already booked flights and lodging in Montreal for their recovery.

"Those patients now have nowhere to go," said Gdalevitch. "I got an email this morning from a patient who's heard that this is going to be the new law in Quebec. And they're, you know, at a loss of what they're going to do. They're panicked."

She points out that many patients chose her because they want their procedures done in Canada and not have to go abroad where safety standards may vary.

CTV News reached out to Quebec's Health Ministry and the College des Medecins for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

Gdalevtich says she's now exploring other options, including opening a clinic in another province. "This is really a dangerous slope where we let the government and the College decide what people are allowed to choose for themselves."