Dr. Mario Cauchi: Falsified Records, Repeat Discipline, and a 2020 Resignation Under Investigation

Mario Mark Cauchi graduated from the University of Western Ontario's medical school in 1969 and went on to operate the Loramar Centre for Cosmetic Surgery in London, Ontario.

1999: OHIP Fraud

In October 1999, Cauchi pleaded guilty before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) Discipline Committee to professional misconduct for defrauding Ontario's health insurance plan — billing OHIP for special night visits and psychotherapy sessions that never took place. He was reprimanded, fined $5,000, and ordered to pay $3,000 in costs.

2003: Falsifying Records After a Lawsuit

In January 1998, Cauchi performed liposuction on a patient's neck — his second liposuction procedure — and, by his own admission, removed too much fat, botching the result. The patient sued him civilly; the case settled in November 2000. After learning of the lawsuit, Cauchi altered four entries in her medical chart, backdating them to make it appear the notes had been made contemporaneously. A forensic document examiner determined the entries had actually been added long after the events they purported to describe.

At a January 2003 hearing, the Discipline Committee found Cauchi guilty of falsifying a patient record and of conduct that would be regarded as disgraceful, dishonourable, or unprofessional. Cauchi told the panel he was "devastated" and asked that his licence not be suspended, saying the alterations were an innocent failure to date his additions rather than an attempt to deceive. The College's prosecutor argued that a second, similar finding of dishonesty — following the 1999 OHIP fraud — called for a serious penalty. On April 16, 2003, the Committee ordered Cauchi reprimanded, suspended his certificate of registration for three months (two of which were suspended on completion of an ethics course), barred him from practising as a sole practitioner for three years, and ordered him to pay $2,500 toward the College's costs.

2020: Resignation Under a New Investigation

Cauchi continued to practise in Ontario for another 17 years — including later work in pain management and anesthesiology — under a restricted certificate. In 2020, the CPSO opened a new investigation into his practice. Rather than face it, Cauchi resigned from the College, giving an undertaking effective August 24, 2020 in which he agreed never to apply or reapply for registration as a physician in Ontario or any other jurisdiction. His CPSO status has been permanently inactive since.

Timeline

• 1969Graduates from the University of Western Ontario medical school.
• Jan 1998Botches a liposuction procedure on a patient's neck, later prompting a civil suit.
• Oct 8, 1999Pleads guilty to CPSO misconduct charges over OHIP billing fraud; reprimanded, fined $5,000, ordered to pay $3,000 in costs.
• Nov 2000Civil suit over the botched liposuction is settled.
• Jan 20, 2003Discipline Committee finds Cauchi falsified the patient's medical record.
• Apr 16, 2003Ordered reprimanded, given a 3-month suspension (2 months conditional), barred from sole practice for 3 years, and ordered to pay $2,500 in costs.
• 2020CPSO opens a new investigation; Cauchi resigns from the College and agrees never to reapply for registration anywhere.