The story of Dr Charlie Teo’s professional failures which emerged in dramatic fashion during his recent disciplinary hearing can be captured in a few words.

The two women diagnosed with brain cancer were desperate to live, Dr Teo became their final hope but given risks of severe permanent disability and death, the surgical procedures he performed were pointless.

There has been a vigorous debate among doctors about this, whether Dr Teo was right to do what he did or whether he was the victim of a system which he has always said was out to crush him.

Unlike much of the media coverage, this article is about the clinical basis on which he decided to operate, the information he had about the cancers at the time, what he did during the surgeries themselves and why they did not work.