A weight-loss doctor whose poor postoperative care was blamed for the deaths of two patients has lost a decade-long legal battle to clear his name and return to practise.

Gold Coast surgeon Dr Russell Broadbent was banned from performing weight-loss operations in 2007 after being investigated over the deaths of two patients following radical bariatric surgery.

Despite surrendering his medical registration in 2010, he had been fighting the decision through the courts ever since.

His attempts finally ended up in the High Court of Australia, but on 10 October, the court dismissed his application for a final appeal on the grounds that it “would enjoy no prospect of success”.