Texas Malpractice Attorneys: Surgical Errors
Your loved one walked into the hospital for laparoscopic surgery and didn't walk out. You are not alone. The team of medical malpractice trial lawyers at Davis & Davis in Houston is here to fight for the victims of surgical errors in Texas. Contact us today.
Surgical Errors: Abdominal Surgery and "Complicated Gut"
Many cases of medical malpractice injury and wrongful death are caused by surgical errors in what is known as a complicated gut scenario. A complicated gut occurs when the patient has had previous invasive abdominal procedures such as an appendectomy, bladder suspension or hysterectomy.
Prior abdominal surgery may have left scar tissue, called “adhesions”, which could seriously complicate the new procedure. It is vitally important that doctors take previous procedures into account when they are planning a surgery. If they fail to do so, they may quickly run into serious or even fatal complications that could have been avoided by proper awareness and planning prior to surgery.
Surgical Errors: Perforated Bowel
Halfway into a gallbladder surgery, the surgeons encounter “adhesions” in your abdomen, scarring from a previous appendectomy. Or worse, they cause a small tear at some point in the 40 feet of small bowel during an abdominal procedure such as bariatric weight loss surgery (lap band, gastric bypass, etc.)
Surgeons are required to "run the bowel" or examine every part of the intestine to insure that there are no tears, holes or perforations before closing you up. If they fail to run the bowel or fail to detect a perforation, patients are at high risk of developing peritonitis, a serious and possibly fatal postsurgical infection.
The fact that a patient suffered a nicked bowel during gallbladder surgery or another abdominal procedure may not be enough to prove medical malpractice. Doctors and nurses know that this is a risk and are supposed to be on the lookout for symptoms of infection. If they fail to appropriately monitor the patient's condition and a serious or fatal infection occurs, they can be held accountable for the negligence and the harm or wrongful death that is caused.
Contact Davis & Davis for Help
If you suffered serious injury or a loved one died as a result of surgical errors or improperly treated complications of abdominal surgery at a Texas hospital, call the Houston medical malpractice attorneys at Davis & Davis at 713-581-1774 or toll free at 877-202-0835 today for a free consultation.
You may also contact us by e-mail now for a prompt response to any enquiry.
Davis & Davis proudly accepts referrals from Texas attorneys and law firms nationwide.
