Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jan 2005
Source: Virginian-Pilot (VA)
Copyright: 2005, The Virginian-Pilot
Contact:  http://www.pilotonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/483
Author: Tim McGlone

DOCTOR CHARGED WITH PRESCRIPTION-DRUG DEATHS

NORFOLK - Dr. Sidney S. Loxley, a Chesapeake orthopedic surgeon long in
trouble with the state medical board and local police, now faces a 91-count
federal indictment charging him, in part, with prescribing drugs that led to
the deaths of at least four patients.

The indictment unsealed Thursday generally charges Loxley, 62, with
operating a prescription drug service "that exceeded the bounds of
legitimate medical practice."

If convicted of the most serious charges, Loxley faces life in prison. The
91 counts allege drug trafficking resulting in death, conspiracy to traffic
prescription drugs, obtaining controlled substances by fraud, money
laundering and other felonies. Loxley's wife, Carol Dean Loxley, 39, also
was charged in the indictment with 40 counts of fraud and money laundering.
Authorities arrested Loxley and his wife late Wednesday near their home on
Shillelagh Road where Chesapeake police, assisting in serving the federal
warrant, stopped him on suspicion of drunken driving.

He is accused in the indictment of prescribing Demerol, Dilaudid, methadone,
OxyContin and other highly addictive drugs by the hundreds to patients, some
of whom already were drug addicts. A federal magistrate on Thursday ordered
Loxley and his wife jailed without bond pending a hearing next week.
Loxley's attorney, Andrew Sacks, said the doctor was only trying to help
patients suffering from chronic pain.

"If this prosecution succeeds, it could work a chilling effect on doctors
across the country and make them hesitant to aggressively treat their
patients' agony and pain," Sacks said.

The indictment says that four patients - Lanae K. Sasse, 25; Karen Young
Zanella, 43; David Scarborough, 42; and Karen E. Gowans, 38 - each died in
2003 within days of receiving prescriptions for heavy doses of painkillers.
Loxley, the indictment says, prescribed to Sasse 120 tablets of methadone
and 60 tablets of Fioricet on Jan. 24, 2003. The next day, Sasse died of an
overdose after taking a portion of those drugs, the indictment says. Months
before Scarborough's death in June 2003, the indictment says, his mother
warned Loxley not to prescribe any more narcotics to him. He died of a
methadone overdose.

Surviving patients listed in the indictment are identified only by a number.
During one 37-day period in 2003, Loxley prescribed 930 tablets of
oxycodone, hydrocodone and other narcotics to one patient, the indictment
states. The indictment also states that Loxley ignored known "red flags"
indicating that the drugs were being abused, including accepting cash
payments, refilling prescriptions early or because they were lost, and
"repeatedly writing prescriptions for patients that overdose."

Loxley, the indictment says, also provided prescriptions for highly
addictive drugs to first-time patients without verifying an illness or
conducting a thorough physical examination.

A Drug Enforcement Administration agent was one of those patients able to
obtain a prescription for narcotics on his first visit, without an exam. The
government also has moved to obtain 16 bank and investment accounts
belonging to Loxley, his home and his office at 501 N. Battlefield Blvd.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty said in a statement that this case "is about
the betrayal of a doctor's oath to do no harm."

But Sacks, the Loxleys' attorney, said this is really about differing
philosophies in the way to treat patients with chronic pain. The government
has moved to remove Sacks from the case. A motion filed Thursday cited a
potential conflict of interest because Sacks 12 years ago represented the
parents of one of Loxley's former wives in a civil action. A judge will
decide that issue next week.

In October , Loxley was put on three years' probation by the state Board of
Medicine for improperly prescribing drugs for his wife before they were
married. Staff writer Cindy Clayton contributed to this report. Reach Tim
McGlone at 446-2343 or  ---
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