According to a JAMA Surgery journal, surgeries account for almost 50% of all adverse events and 13% of hospital deaths in the US. This knowledge calls to attention the need for establishing safe methods and experienced surgeons when it comes to surgeries. The technicality of diagnostic laparoscopic surgery makes it even more important to avoid all errors to ensure that unsafe processes do not harm patients.
What is Diagnostic Laparoscopic Surgery?
A laparoscopy is a surgery that examines the abdomen or a woman’s reproductive system to look for issues. Laparoscopic surgery employs the use of a narrow tube known as a laparoscope. It is placed into the abdomen through a tiny incision.
The tube is equipped with a camera, and the camera delivers images to a video monitor. This prevents the patient from suffering a significant injury while a surgeon can see inside the body.
Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgery. Compared to conventional (open) surgery, it enables shorter hospital stays, quicker healing, less discomfort, and smaller scars.
With this innovative procedure comes the need for experienced doctors who pay attention to details and understand the procedure appropriately. When safety is removed from the equation, there is the risk of sustaining an injury from the procedure.
Suppose harm has been caused to you or your loved one during a laparoscopy. In that case, you can use medical animation to illustrate the laparoscopic procedure and the mistakes made during the surgery.
What Are The Types Of Errors That Can Occur During A Laparoscopic Surgery?
Laparoscopic surgery is used for different conditions, such as diagnosing tumors, blockages, bleeding, and infection. It can also treat or diagnose fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and pelvic prolapse in women.
Laparoscopic surgery is a highly endangering procedure if the surgeon in charge does not know exactly how to go about the procedure safely.
Any error during these surgeries will render the medical practitioner and the hospital liable. Heavy settlements can also be derived from the case to cover physical, emotional, and financial loss.
For instance, a man derived a $1.5 million verdict from a court case when he was injured during laparoscopic gallbladder surgery.
These are the types of mistakes that can happen during a laparoscopy:
- Perforation of bowels or intestines
A laparoscopic procedure is unique because what is being carried out can only be seen through the eye of the camera attached to the laparoscope. Thus, wherever the camera cannot see is a blind spot for the surgeon.
Suppose the surgeon in charge does not take adequate care to view the area being operated upon before making vital moves. In that case, there is a risk of perforating the bowels or intestines, thus creating an avenue for complications or even death.
- Failure to fully remove an unwanted growth or malignancy
Sometimes, laparoscopic surgery is carried out to remove a particular malignancy or unwanted growth in the body. These removals are usually carried out to avoid growth and more risks. This is why surgeons must remove the growth, thus ensuring a successful surgery.
Whenever the removal is incomplete, the surgeon sets the patient up for more risks and puts them through the ordeal of enduring subsequent surgeries.
The surgeon can be sued using medical animation to illustrate the error that occurred and how it has affected the patient.
- Removal of too much tissue
Incomplete removal is a problem, and so is the removal of much more than is required. The removal of too much tissue will result in damage to the body and also cause harm to the patient.
With medical animation, it is possible to expose the surgeon’s error and recover damages for the harm suffered.
- Electrical burns
Electrical burn is also a possibility during a laparoscopy. The burn can result from defective laparoscopes and other such equipment. It is even more dangerous if the burn occurs while the equipment is inside the body.
Whenever a burn occurs during laparoscopic surgery, medical animation can be used to animate the equipment, prove a defect in a product liability action, and show poor equipment handling by the surgeon in a medical malpractice claim.
- Cutting at the wrong location
A laparoscopy is characterized by an incision in the body, followed by the insertion of the laparoscope. The incision’s location is crucial to avoid the perforation of vital organs or the vascular system.
Damage to vital organs and the vascular system is very dangerous and can spell death if emergency actions are not taken immediately. In the event of damage due to a laparoscopy error, medical animation can be used to prove the case in court.
Conclusion
Medical animation is very effective in depicting surgeries and surgical errors. It is, therefore, important to bring all qualified hands on deck and consult with a medical animation company experienced in creating admissible graphics.
