The Nation - News from Jan. 28, 1986

A second witness at the Washington court-martial of Dr. Donal Billig said that Billig accidentally punched a gash into a patient’s aorta, then “stepped back, staring, eyes glazed, as though he was stunned.” Surgeon Charles K. Lee said he stepped in and put his finger on the three-quarter-inch hole in the aorta to stem the spreading blood. He said Billig later did the repair of the aorta badly and the patient died. The case forms one of the five involuntary manslaughter charges that Billig faces for his work at Bethesda Naval Hospital.