Unnecessary Surgery Results In Unnecessary Injury

Jane tries to rest and relax on her couch.  The fact is that this is nearly impossible.  Clutching her back, eyes watering from the pain, she moans out loud, “I wish I never had that surgery”.

Jane is a waitress by trade, and proud of it too.  Her recent spinal fusion surgery has left her still in pain and will less mobility.  Never one for class room study, and not able to return to waiting tables, Jane often laments about her past and wonders about her future prospects.

She is aghast with the material she just read.  Talking to the walls, she states, “Annuloplasty, posterior dynamic stabilization, artificial discs, and disc regeneration?  My doctor never told me about these options.  I don’t even know now if the spinal fusion was necessary.”

The experienced Kingston medical malpractice attorney knows that herniated disk surgery is not always necessary.  Many other types of surgeries are unnecessarily performed, such as back surgery, spine surgery, knee surgery, surgery on the eye, hand and foot surgeries, and many other types of procedures.

Victims of surgical negligence should know that unnecessary surgery is medical malpractice.  Invasive procedures always carry risks and the decision to have surgery should be carefully weighed against those risks.  Sometimes the possible complications are greater than the illness itself, making surgery much too risky.

Consider the following common complications of surgery:

• Infection.
• Device malfunction: screws, plates, rods, and pins.
• Chronic pain.
• Sepsis.
• MRSA.
• Tendon damage.
• Nerve damage.
• Nicked arteries.
• Severed arteries.
• Wrong vertebrae surgery.

Some of these complications should never happen, others can be mere accident.  In either case, the complication would not have occurred if the unnecessary surgery was not performed.  Not only should patients be fully informed about those consequences, they should also be told about the alternatives to surgery and the proposed procedure in general.

Spine fusion surgery can be highly risky.  Medical professionals are aware of this.  They are also aware of other ways to treat spine problems.  Labeling spinal fusion as the first and only viable option for the patient may be so improper that the doctor can be considered negligent.

This means that the doctor did something that he should not have done, something so wrong that another doctor would not have made the same error.  Performing unnecessary surgery can rise to that level and it can breach the doctor’s duty to the patient.

If any of the complications listed above was caused by unnecessary surgery, the victim can consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney.  Suing the offending doctor in civil court can compensate the victim for the wrongs committed by the doctor.

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.