Florida surgeon is still practicing despite plea deal

Accused of fraud and perjury, with court documents indicating he suffered from memory lapses that were getting worse, heart surgeon Alex Zakharia promised to retire and surrender his Florida medical license by Dec. 31, 2007. Five weeks after the deadline, the 70-year-old doctor was still practicing at his South Miami office. Zakharia has also renewed his lawsuit against Cedars Medical Center, which suspended him in November 2006 following the deaths of several patients, court documents show. The doctor is accusing the hospital of "malicious" and "bad faith" conduct.