A former Newberry County Memorial Hospital general surgeon walked out of a surgery for half an hour in February 2006 because a surgical tool wasn’t available, said the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation before the South Carolina State Board of Medical Examiners in May.

Dr. Steven Matzinger was charged with a violation of state code after the Board of Medical Examiners held a hearing against Matzinger after he “behaved disruptively by leaving an operation room while operating on a patient...and did not return to the operating room for approximately thirty minutes,” the report states. The incident occurred on “or about February 22, 2006.”

The report says Matzinger acknowledged that “he displayed a pattern of intensive and abrasive behavior in an effort to improve the delivery of medical care.”

The report also says Matzinger “used cocaine twice weekly at his residence or at a friend’s house” “over a period of approximately twelve months” after he was issued a hair test in May 29, 2007.

“His drug use was not during the course of medical treatment nor when he was on-call,” the report reads.

Matzinger voluntarily submitted to an “Intensive Outpatient Program” in July 2007 and attended 23 sessions and completed the program the following month.

His license was suspended until he paid a $5,000 fine and $776 in costs to the licensing board. He was also ordered to enroll in a course “addressing anger management or disruptive physicians,” and has to continue in a South Carolina Recovering Professionals Program for five years.

Matzinger now practices in Myrtle Beach.

“While Dr. Matzinger served on the medical staff at Newberry County Memorial Hospital, he helped many people in our community,” said Andy Hawkins Newberry County Memorial Hospital PR and Marketing Director. “In regard to this situation, the Board of Medical Examiners is the appropriate agency to review a physician. They have done so and taken action.”

The report is online at www.llr.state.sc.us.