Vito v. Dhillon, Nos. A04A2170, A04A2171 (Ga. Ct. App. Sept. 21, 2004)

The Court of Appeals of Georgia ruled that a podiatrist who performed elective cosmetic surgery (a limb-lengthening procedure on a 5' 5" man who wanted to increase his height) violated the Georgia Podiatry Act and therefore was negligent per se. The surgery left one leg shorter than the other and both angulated to the ground below the knee. The Georgia Podiatry Act permits podiatrists to perform surgery necessary to treat diseases, ailments, injuries, or abnormal conditions of the human foot and leg, but not elective cosmetic surgery.