Clipping Board » Medical Harm ─ Unnecessary or inappropriate medical procedures can also cause harm.
Update Date: 2009/10/20 20:58 (Central News Agency Reporter Huang Xusheng, Taipei County)
A physician surnamed Bao at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital performed spinal surgery on a patient without fully disclosing the risk of "cauda equina syndrome" complications, resulting in the patient suffering from genital numbness, incontinence, and other aftereffects. The Banqiao District Court ruled today that the doctor and the hospital must compensate the patient NT$2 million. The case is appealable.
The verdict stated that the patient, surnamed Wang, suffered from degenerative spondylolisthesis combined with spinal stenosis. After seeing a TV advertisement, he sought treatment at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in 2006 and followed Dr. Bao's recommendation to undergo minimally invasive surgery for endoscopic spinal decompression.
The verdict noted that the doctor claimed to have extensive surgical experience, boasting a 100% success rate with no prior failures, assuring the procedure was absolutely safe. Unexpectedly, after the minimally invasive surgery, the patient experienced incontinence, loss of sensation in the buttocks and genital area, and sharp pain in the lower limbs.
The doctor then performed traditional open spinal surgery but was still unable to resolve the issue, ultimately attributing it to cauda equina syndrome. The patient argued that the doctor failed to adequately inform him of the risks beforehand, preventing him from assessing the necessity of the surgery. Due to the severe impact on his daily life and work, the patient sought damages from the doctor and the hospital.
Dr. Bao contended that cauda equina syndrome is a "very rare" complication and thus did not need to be disclosed to the patient. He also pointed out that most hospitals do not include it in surgical risk assessment disclosures. He cited international medical journals to argue that cauda equina syndrome can occur even without any damage to the spinal nerves.
The doctor stated that he had performed over 40 minimally invasive surgeries without ever encountering cauda equina syndrome.
Below the second lumbar vertebra, the spinal cord ends, leaving only nerve roots that resemble a "horse's tail." Compression of these nerve roots can lead to cauda equina syndrome, which typically causes sudden lower limb pain and weakness, genital numbness, and loss of bladder or bowel control.
After reviewing the case, the court ruled that medical law requires physicians to fully inform patients of surgical risks. Whether traditional or minimally invasive, the procedure carries this risk, with literature citing a 0.2-1% occurrence rate. Given Dr. Bao's high surgical frequency—40 procedures in seven months—it could not be deemed a "rare" complication.
The court today ruled that since cauda equina syndrome is incurable, the hospital and the doctor must jointly compensate the patient, surnamed Wang, NT$2 million based on the parties' statuses and the mental anguish suffered. 981020
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 091020/ 5/ 1tcpp. html
Insufficient Disclosure of Complications: Doctor Ordered to Pay 2 Million
A physician surnamed Bao at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital performed spinal surgery on a patient without fully disclosing the risk of "cauda equina syndrome" complications, resulting in the patient suffering from genital numbness, incontinence, and other aftereffects. The Banqiao District Court ruled today that the doctor and the hospital must compensate the patient NT$2 million. The case is appealable.
The verdict stated that the patient, surnamed Wang, suffered from degenerative spondylolisthesis combined with spinal stenosis. After seeing a TV advertisement, he sought treatment at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in 2006 and followed Dr. Bao's recommendation to undergo minimally invasive surgery for endoscopic spinal decompression.
The verdict noted that the doctor claimed to have extensive surgical experience, boasting a 100% success rate with no prior failures, assuring the procedure was absolutely safe. Unexpectedly, after the minimally invasive surgery, the patient experienced incontinence, loss of sensation in the buttocks and genital area, and sharp pain in the lower limbs.
The doctor then performed traditional open spinal surgery but was still unable to resolve the issue, ultimately attributing it to cauda equina syndrome. The patient argued that the doctor failed to adequately inform him of the risks beforehand, preventing him from assessing the necessity of the surgery. Due to the severe impact on his daily life and work, the patient sought damages from the doctor and the hospital.
Dr. Bao contended that cauda equina syndrome is a "very rare" complication and thus did not need to be disclosed to the patient. He also pointed out that most hospitals do not include it in surgical risk assessment disclosures. He cited international medical journals to argue that cauda equina syndrome can occur even without any damage to the spinal nerves.
The doctor stated that he had performed over 40 minimally invasive surgeries without ever encountering cauda equina syndrome.
Below the second lumbar vertebra, the spinal cord ends, leaving only nerve roots that resemble a "horse's tail." Compression of these nerve roots can lead to cauda equina syndrome, which typically causes sudden lower limb pain and weakness, genital numbness, and loss of bladder or bowel control.
After reviewing the case, the court ruled that medical law requires physicians to fully inform patients of surgical risks. Whether traditional or minimally invasive, the procedure carries this risk, with literature citing a 0.2-1% occurrence rate. Given Dr. Bao's high surgical frequency—40 procedures in seven months—it could not be deemed a "rare" complication.
The court today ruled that since cauda equina syndrome is incurable, the hospital and the doctor must jointly compensate the patient, surnamed Wang, NT$2 million based on the parties' statuses and the mental anguish suffered. 981020
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 091020/ 5/ 1tcpp. html