Mistake During Laparoscopy Surgery- NYC Lawyers
If you think that an error was made during your laparoscopic surgery, contact our lawyers for professional legal advice. Our experienced NY lawyers at the Diefenbach law firm will investigate your claim of negligence. We use skilled doctors and lawyers to quickly investigate your medical malpractice case and determine how to proceed. If you would like to have your laparoscopy claim investigated, contact our New York City attorneys today.
Laparoscopy is a procedure performed through an incision with the aid of a camera. Known for its many advantages versus open surgery, laparoscopy is widely used in both diagnosis and surgery. Firstly, it allows less room for surgical errors than open surgery. Secondly, it has a lower risk for infection, which is a common post-surgical negligence. Thirdly, Laparoscopic operations require a shorter recovery time. Despite many improvements which have been introduced to laparoscopic procedure, human errors can still cause unnecessary injury or even death of the patient. Only a top New York medical malpractice law firm can give you the legal guidance for your NY medical malpractice damage recovery.
Though laparoscopic procedure does not sound as intimidating as open surgery, it is still a complicated and demanding medical procedure. To begin, the patient’s abdomen would be filled with gas, be it carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide. The inflated abdominal cavity allows the surgeon to view the internal organs more clearly. The doctor is now able to insert the laparoscope through a small incision and perform an examination. If this is a surgery meant to remove some tissues in your body, the doctor might make more than one incision to allow better movements of surgical instruments. Medical errors can happen at any stage of the operation. Regardless of the type of error, you should consult an experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your legal options in seeking compensation.
Various types of surgical negligence that are common to open surgery can also occur during laparoscopic surgery. For example, the surgeon may have removed excessive tissue. It is also possible that the removal is performed at the wrong location. Though laparoscopy is known for its lower risk for post-surgical infection, patients can get infected if the doctor or the hospital staff do not provide sufficient and proper care. Or, the doctor might fail to convert the operation to an open surgery when he is supposed to. If you or a loved one suffers from damages as a result of the doctor’s negligence during a laparoscopic procedure, you may be entitled to compensation.
The following are other types of common laparoscopy errors:
1. Gallbladder Removal Error:
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a surgery that aims to remove the gallbladder, is one of the most common laparoscopic procedures. There are two ways for the doctor to perform this surgery. The first option is to insert the necessary tools through multiple incisions and to have the doctor operate away from the patient. The second method is to let the surgeon operate on the patient through a single incision. You may assume that your surgeon is experienced to perform the operation you need, but you are wrong. Many surgeons are not familiar with or experienced at laparoscopic procedures, therefore, they are not qualified to do a laparoscopic gallbladder removal surgery. Many types of mistakes can be made by an inexperienced doctor, for example, burns and unnecessary cuts. Victims of New York laparoscopic gallbladder removal errors may be entitled to compensation, thus they are advised to contact a reputable NY medical malpractice attorney to arrange a consultation.
2. Gastric Bypass Surgery Error:
Laparoscopy is also popular in gastric bypass operation. Gastric bypass surgery is known to treat morbid obesity by temporarily altering the structure of the stomach. However, it can also be prescribed to treat hypertension, type-2 diabetes, as well as other types of gastrointestinal disorder or disease. In this operation, at least four small incisions are made in the abdomincal area for the surgeon to insert camera and other surgical tools.
4. Gas-related Errors:
Medical errors can occur in both laparoscopic diagnosis and surgery. Laparoscopic complications associated with carbon dioxide can occur in both laparoscopic surgery and diagnosis. For instance, the gas might escape and go into the heart and lungs. Or, the pressure exerted by the gas on the abdominal wall can make blood return to the heart, causing too much blood to stay in the heart. Excessive blood may over-work the heart and cause heart failure. It can also be dangerous when too much carbon dioxide is absorbed in the bloodstream. It may eventually cause the patient to have irregular heart rhythm.
5. Bile Duct Injury:
Specific technical complications are not uncommon in laparoscopic sugeries. Next, we will elaborate on the potential damage to bile duct, a surgical complication that we mentioned earlier. Bile duct injury is always the doctor’s concern in a laparoscopic electrocautery procedure, in which the doctor removes target tissue with electric current. The bile duct contains fluid and therefore acts as an ideal conductor. The surgeon sometimes increases the strength of the current to achieve faster and better results. Ironically, the higher current can travel along the bile duct and burn the duodenum.
6. Other laparoscopy errors:
In a laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon only has a two-dimensional camera view of the internal structure of the patient’s abdomen. The doctor might fail to recognize some obstacles that may prevent the success of the surgery. The poor view may cause the doctor to bring damage to organs in the abdomen. In the worst case scenario, the doctor might not even admit his own mistakes and simply leave the injury untreated and unreported. By the time the patient finds out about his/her own injury, it may be too late. Victims of the above surgical errors should consult a New York medical malpractice attorney to see if they have a laparoscopy error case.
Overall, the complication rate of laparoscopic surgery is only about 1 to 5%. The mortality rate is only 0.05%. These numbers can form a rather promising picture but nothing can be certain in a surgery or any medical procedure. There are still some unfortunate patients who are injured because negligent doctors or surgeons committed an irreversible error during the laparoscopic procedure. If you are a victim of medical malpractice, you are justifiably angry; and you should seek compensation from the person and/or entity that has contributed to your loss. New York medical malpractice attorneys at The Diefenbach Law Firm, PLLC can help you investigate your case and assist you in taking legal actions against the doctor at fault.
