SAN DIEGO -- This week, a very well-known North County surgeon will go before an administrative law judge to fight against disciplinary action.

The doctor is accused of having sex with a patient and then lying about it.

He is a prominent North County plastic surgeon -- head of plastic surgery for Scripps Encinitas and recognized for his extensive charity work.

Dr. Dennis Nigro has been honored publicly, including a 10News honor, for providing free surgeries for children.

But it is his alleged activities outside of the operating room that led to a complaint by the California Medical Board, accusations that Nigro violated one of the most basic tenants of medicine -- never have sex with a patient.

While he can't comment specifically about the case, Steve Alexander, president of the California Medical Board, said, “Under no circumstances should there ever be any sexual innuendoes, sexual language, sexual contact between physician and patient; it’s a hard and fast line that's drawn."

Nigro is accused of crossing that line on two occasions in 2003, engaging in “consensual sexual intercourse” with patient T.E. at a Phoenix hotel on February 21.

According to Nigro’s resume, he spoke at a medical conference that weekend.

The accusation said Nigro also had sex with T.E. in his own home on March 11 of that year.

Nigro is married, with young children, something he mentioned during a past interview.

“I really feel for the parents now that I have my own kids, more than I thought I would have,” Nigro told 10News in a previous interview.

The complaint alleges unprofessional conduct and dishonesty. It says the woman’s husband, J.E., was also a patient of Nigro’s Encinitas practice who “often related financial problems, job insecurity issues and marital problems he was having with T.E.”

Nigro is accused of telling the husband that the affair “was not true” and “soliciting... [the husband] to lie to… [Mrs. Nigro]… in an attempt to cover up the affair.”

The complaint also alleges that the affair caused “extreme physical and emotional harm” to the husband.

"The strictest form of discipline is revocation of their license,” said Alexander.

10News contacted Nigro three weeks ago for comment. Nigro put 10News in touch with his public relations person, Karen Huchins.

Huchins said Nigro is the victim; that T.E. admitted she pursued him and sought cosmetic procedures to be near him.

Huchins said T.E. was not a patient at the time of the affair.

California law states doctors cannot have sex with patients, consent can never be a defense and the doctor-patient relationship cannot be terminated for the purpose of sex.

“One of the major issues we're always concerned about, rises to the top, is sex with a patient,” said Alexander.

Nigro’s attorney sent 10News the following statement:

”Dr. Dennis Nigro strongly denies the allegations of wrongdoing. The former patient has recanted her complaint and asked that it too be dismissed.”

The statement goes on to state that Nigro will be exonerated and this cloud will be removed from his good name.

On Friday, Nigro’s attorney’s filed a motion to block 10News from attending the hearing this week.

It is a move 10News plans to fight.

10News never interviewed Steve Alexander regarding the pending medical board action against Dr. Dennis Nigro. Our stories on Dr. Dennis Nigro never reported Alexander was commenting on the pending medical board action against Dr. Dennis Nigro. Alexander was interviewed on March 15, 2007.

On the subject of the "worst five things a doctor can do," he provided the 10News Investigation Team the list of the "worst five" and then commented on each individual item. There were no specific cases or doctors mentioned in the course of this interview. Among the items provided by Alexander as one of the "worst five things a doctor can do," was a sexual relationship between a doctor and his or her patient. Clearly, in reporting the allegations against Dr. Dennis Nigro there was no intention or effort to tie Alexander’s separate interview specifcally to the Dr. Dennis Nigro case.