Some of us, when faced with a tough situation like surgery, put our faith in our healthcare providers, trust everything will work out, and hope for the best. Others do all those things… but also need to have answers to all their concerns. That first group will believe the surgeon knows what he or she is doing and will try not to worry. However, before surgery, the second group of patients will do research to make the most informed decisions they can. This includes reviewing patient opinions and ratings of doctors, getting a second opinion, checking board certifications and licenses, researching articles on the type of procedure, and researching outcomes and prognosis. Before going ahead with surgery, these diligent, fact-finding patients look into how the actual procedure is typically performed, review the surgeon’s qualifications, making certain he or she is board certified, and then make a list of thoughtful questions about the procedure, outcomes, and their short-term and long-term prognosis. The Buchanan Firm team believes informed patients often have better outcomes. But that is not always the case and sometimes errors still occur.
Surgery is a serious matter, no matter if it is a “minor” surgery like a colonoscopy or if it is a major surgery like a cancer tumor removal. All surgeries have risks. While there is no guarantee in any medical procedure, when healthcare professionals follow patient safety rules, surgical problems are significantly reduced and less errors occur. While surgeons are not responsible for complications or bad outcomes, surgeons are responsible when they violate a patient safety rule, failing to act as a reasonable healthcare professional.
Some surgeons are not careful during surgical procedures. They get careless, complacent, or cut corners on patient safety, forgetting the real dangers or cramming more surgeries into a day to maximize profits. Reckless physician conduct injures patients.
The following are some of the most common anesthesia mistakes made in surgical procedures:
Dosage error: When an anesthesiologist gives the patient too much or too little anesthesia.
Failure to properly monitor a patient: An anesthesiologist is responsible for monitoring the patient’s blood pressure, heart rhythm, temperature, level of consciousness, and amount of oxygen in the blood. Failure to monitor or failure to recognize complications from abnormal inaccurate monitor readings can put the patient in serious danger.
Turning off an alarm for abnormal readings: Devices are often used during many medical procedures to monitor the oxygen and blood pressure. These are key vital signs monitored during surgery. Medical devices have an alarm function intended to alert medical providers when levels give cause for concern. If a medical professional turns this function off, they may miss important cues about patient distress and injury.
Delayed anesthesia delivery: There can be error in the delivery of anesthesia including vaporizer leakage, IV errors, syringe-swapping troubles and other complications at the outset of surgery.
Anesthesia error can cause significant damage. The most common injuries caused by anesthesia errors include:
Three key questions patients need to have answered before a surgical procedure include:
Asking questions and getting answers can be a very positive and empowering experience. To improve patient engagement in surgical decision making, it is necessary to make the consequence of surgery relevant to their lives.
Here are some additional questions patients should feel comfortable asking a surgeon before a procedure:
Before a surgery, talk to your physician and anesthesiologist about your concerns. Insist the physician take precautions to prevent error. Demanding safety before surgery may just save your life.
Unfortunately, some physicians are not careful during surgical procedures. They get careless, complacent, or cut corners on patient safety, forgetting the real dangers or cramming more surgeries into a day to maximize profits. Reckless physician conduct injures patients.
Before a surgery, talk to your physician and anesthesiologist about your concerns. Insist the physician take precautions to prevent error. Demanding safety before surgery may just save your life.
At Buchanan Firm, our combined legal-medical team has decades of experience handling medical malpractice cases, including cases involving surgical errors in Kalamazoo, Michigan at both Bronson and Borgess Hospitals. We have an experienced legal and medical team to talk with you and immediately review your claim. Our team quickly and efficiently assesses the medical facts and takes immediate action to protect your legal rights and reimburse you for the harms and losses.