Page 24 - Avoiding Surgical Mishaps Part 1

SVMIC Avoiding Surgical Mishaps: Dissecting the Risks

CASE STUDY

continued
quadrant of his abdomen and returned to the surgeon

for another post-op assessment. He also saw his primary
care physician that week and a chest x-ray identified a left

pleural effusion, so a CT scan was ordered to investigate
further. The CT found a large loculated collection of

fluid in the left-upper quadrant of the abdomen, causing
displacement of the spleen and kidney. He was admitted

to the hospital on June 7, and 5 L of clear, yellow fluid with
a PH of 7.46 was drained from the cystic area identified

by the CT scan. A urologist was consulted and a ureteral
injury was diagnosed. The patient underwent a series of

operations to drain a uroma, insert a nephrostomy tube,
and address a left-mid ureter repair. In November, an

incisional hernia was also found which required surgical
correction. The patient was unable to begin chemotherapy

until March of the next year because of the complications
and operations.

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit citing that the injury to the

ureter was not a part of the body directly or proximately
related to the colon resection surgery.

Because the surgeon utilized a generic consent form
which did not allow for the addition of specific risks or

potential complications for the particular surgery being
performed, there was no evidence that the patient had

been given a full understanding of the potential risks of
this surgery. Instead, the form indicated that the patient

was consenting to “the procedure” and that there were

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