The risk of surgical errors is no greater at outpatient surgery centers than full-service hospitals for most patients. However, certain patients may face increased risk when undergoing surgery at one of these facilities, as the case of Joan Rivers illustrates. Yesterday, I wrote about news accounts relating the cause of Joan Rivers' death. I suspect we will be [...]
Surgical errors are a frequent source of medical malpractice claims in Ohio. Urologic Care reports this month that the incidence of wrongful death associated with common urologic procedures increased significantly over a 12-year study period. The increase in preventable deaths coincided with a shift of more procedures to outpatient surgery centers. It appears that, once again, profits are getting [...]
There are certain things that should never happen when you have surgery. One is that surgical equipment such as sponges, needles and other equipment used during the surgery should never be left behind. If the surgical team is working together and doing their job, all equipment used should be accounted for at the end of the surgery. [...]
Surgical errors arising out bariatric surgery can occur before, during or after the procedure. Medical negligence may occur before surgery based on the poor patient selection. Patients who undergo bariatric surgery must be carefully screened to assess their physical and mental fitness to undergo major surgery that results in dramatic lifestyle alteration. As important as [...]
Surgical errors may result from the decision to perform unnecessary surgery. A recent study performed by the Mayo Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery reports that thyroidectomy -- surgical removal of the thyroid gland -- is often performed unnecessarily. According to the Mayo Center, surgical removal of the thyroid has more than tripled in the [...]
Surgical errors using laser technology are on the rise, according to an article appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association - Dermatology (JAMA-Dermatology). The article notes that the number of medical malpractice claims arising out of use of lasers for dermatological procedures has skyrocketed in recent years, due to expansive use of this technology, [...]
Surgical errors occur with alarming frequency. The journal Surgery recently reported a survey of one particularly disturbing category of surgical error -- so-called "never events." Never events were so named because, pursuant to a list created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, these events should never occur. In the surgical context, never events include wrong-site surgery [...]
Why do medical errors or medical mistakes continue to happen? We read about efforts that are being made to improve surgical safety. Timeouts before surgery to make sure that everything is in order are common. Checking patient wristbands is standard practice. Asking patients to state their name and date of birth and whether they understand what [...]
Ohio Surgical errors occur on a regular basis. Why did the surgery fail? Why did the patient die? Why has recovery following the surgery taken so very long? Why was a foreign object left behind? WHY ISN'T ANYONE EXPLAINING TO ME WHAT WENT WRONG? Behind the wall of silence in healthcare are the unanswered questions [...]
I recently read a great article about surgical errors, 10 Red Flags in General Surgical Malpractice Cases, by another medical malpractice lawyer, Todd Hendrickson. The article lists 10 post-operative developments that can be overlooked by busy surgeons, but should raise concerns. When a surgeon ignores a red flag, there may be grounds for a medical negligence claim [...]
