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Surgeon Munjed Al Muderis says he wakes up every day thinking about what he would do differently for a patient he says he did everything to help.
It has been several years but he has not thought of anything.
He did not recall telling the patient's husband that he learned from the experience.
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"I did say I am very sorry for her suffering, and I am," Al Muderis said on Tuesday.
"Every day I wake up I think: what would I have done different? And to this day I think I've done everything I could do to help this woman."
The surgeon has sued Nine — the publisher of this website — for defamation in the Federal Court over a series of reports he claims ruined his reputation and set back the field of prosthetic limbs by 20 years.
The reports featured in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers and aired on 60 Minutes in September 2022.
Nine defends the claims as true or otherwise protected as journalism in the public interest.
The company's barrister Dr Matthew Collins KC suggested he could have sent the patient for a full body bone scan, which Al Muderis said would have been harmful and returned a misleading diagnosis for up to a year following surgery.
The surgeon said the patient did not have an infection at their last consult, and did not recall being told later of any disappointment by her husband.
"I remember he said she developed an infection, but the discussion was about: 'don't feel upset if you get sued'," Al Muderis said.
He remembered being told not to take it personally.
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"He said: 'it's all about money, because when I die I want her to be left with something'," Al Muderis recalled.
Collins earlier asked about the use of a "suction pump" on a different patient, which the surgeon said was scientifically known as a "vacuum dressing".
The procedure was used to drain fluid, relieve swelling and close wounds.
Collins said the patient reported being in agony, a claim Al Muderis disputed.
"The vacuum dressing does not cause pain," he said, adding he did not recall the patient saying she was in agony.
When asked if the patient said not to use it again because it hurt too much, Al Muderis responded: "If she had said that to me, I would not have done it."
The patient later wrote to the surgeon complaining that she felt their conversations were unsatisfactory and her concerns were not being taken seriously.
Al Muderis agreed that was what the letter said but contended it was wrong.
She underwent a successful surgery but unfortunately suffered from a recognised complication she was warned about, which he treated.
The surgeon said he attended to the patient in a timely fashion and managed her complaints and complications on a regular basis.
"If she decided to discontinue being treated by me, as much as it saddens me … I can't do anything about it," Al Muderis said.
"I can't comment on people giving her other advices, I can't comment on her feelings, all I can do is to provide the patient with the best care to the best of my ability, which I believe that I have done."
The hearing continues on Wednesday.
