Former Joliet Doctor Facing Professional, Sexual Misconduct Charges

A former Joliet surgeon is facing disciplinary charges from the Iowa Board of Medicine alleging professional incompetence, sexual misconduct and unethical behavior.

Dr. Jeffrey Piccirillo, who now practices in Lake in the Hills, a suburb northwest of Chicago, and Grinnell, Iowa, is accused of not providing appropriate care for patients with Lyme disease and having a sexual relationship with a female Illinois patient, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

Piccirillo has previously been brought up on charges by the Iowa medical board, which accused him of carrying out "a pattern of professional incompetency." Piccirillo settled the case in 2009 by agreeing to pay a $5,000 fine, undergoing a mental health assessment and agreeing not to do surgery, the story said.

Since then, Piccirillo has come under scrutiny for treating patients for a form of Lyme disease that many medical authorities say does not exist, the story said.

Piccirillo received his doctor of osteopathy degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1989 and started practicing as an orthopedic surgeon in Joliet in the 1990s, according to a 2011 Chicago Tribune article. After being sued several times for allegations of malpractice, personal injury and negligence, he moved to Grinnell in 2004 to start a new practice, the article said.