Pittsburgh Medical Malpractice Blog

Surgical errors can be the most serious forms of medical errors. The majority of surgical errors are known as “wrong site” operations, where the surgeon operates on the wrong organ, limb or other area of the body. Other times a surgeon performs the wrong procedure and at times operates on the wrong patient.

Other types of surgical errors can occur during plastic or cosmetic surgeries such as breast implantation or reduction, as well as some facial related surgeries. Although the surgical mistakes may not threaten the health of the patient, such errors may produce results far worse than the condition that the plastic surgery intended to repair.

Solid statistics on the number of surgical errors that occur each year are hard to obtain because most states don’t require doctors to report surgical errors. Here are some measures you can take to prevent a possible surgical error from happening to you or a loved one:

1. Check out your doctor and hospital. Ask lots of questions . . . such as how many times your doctor has performed the intended procedure and compare that number with other physicians. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers detailed information about procedures performed at different hospitals.

2. Make sure your doctor initials your surgical site.

3. Confirm the surgery site with the surgeon before the procedure.

Mistakes do happen with even the most skilled surgeon. Cases involving surgical errors are very complicated and should only be handled by experienced medical malpractice attorneys. Our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania medical malpractice law firm is one of the only law firms in Pittsburgh with medical doctors on staff to evaluate and consult on our medical malpractice and personal injury cases. The medical malpractice lawyers of Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. offer free, no-obligation initial consultations, and there is no fee unless recovery is made. Contact us today for your free consultation.