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A bizarre medical request and a botched surgery lead police on a search to find the missing suspected quacks.
By Allie Shah, Star Tribune
It doesn't get much stranger than this.
A St. Paul man, complaining of chronic pain, wanted to have his testicles removed. When conventional medical staff refused to do the job, he hired other "professionals" to take off his testicles, according to a search warrant affidavit filed Monday in Ramsey County District Court.
Two or three people operated on the man, Russell Daniel Angus, 62, a couple weeks ago at his home in St. Paul. He was unconscious during the surgery, and when he woke up, his testicles had been removed.
And the "professionals" were gone.
His groin area was bleeding heavily, so he called his daughter. She called for help. When police arrived, they found a makeshift operating room set up in the upper level of the house. There were bright lights, an apparent operating table, medical supplies and equipment, and a camera. Angus was still bleeding, and there was blood in the living room, hall and bathroom, the affidavit said. He was taken to Regions Hospital.
Since then, St. Paul police have been looking for the people behind the surgery, suspecting that it was an illegal medical procedure. Only those licensed to practice medicine in Minnesota may perform a medical procedure here. Angus wouldn't say who the mysterious practitioners were, telling police that he didn't want to get them into trouble.
His wife, Anna Marie Angus, told police that her husband spends a lot of time on the Internet and uses a computer kept in a lower-level bedroom. She said he uses that room because he has limited mobility. The daughter told police that she didn't want them to search her father's house, the affidavit says.
Police searched the home in the 600 block of York Avenue on July 28, looking for a list of items including blood, medical instruments, fingerprints, documents discussing medical procedures, computers, and testicles. Court documents show they seized three specimen jars, medical supplies, a camera, a computer CPU, and other items.
"Based on my knowledge and experience, I know that it is not common or usual for a licensed medical practitioner to perform surgery in the non-sterile environment of a private home," wrote Sgt. Richard Munoz, in court documents. "I also know that it would be highly unusual, unprofessional and likely negligent for a licensed medical practitioner to perform surgery and then leave a patient before the patient recovered from anesthesia and/or fail to provide immediate follow-up care."
St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said he has seen a lot in his years on the force, but this case is remarkable. "I have never in my life seen anything quite like that."
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