Personal Injury Law

MUST KNOWS to successfully pursue a Negligent Gallbladder Operation Lawsuit in Missouri: #1: KNOW THE ANATOMY

By Benjamin J. Sansone, Esq.

Part I on of a series of 10 must knows from a St Louis personal injury lawyer to successfully pursue a Missouri medical malpractice case arising from a negligently performed gallbladder operation.

Top 10 things a doctor must know well when doing this surgery and the top 10 areas I focus on when pursuing a Missouri medical negligence lawsuit for my clients.

1.KNOW THE ANATOMY

A surgeon must circumstantially dissect the gallbladder, surrounding ducts, and vascular system. The anatomy must be fully identified before the surgeon decides to cut or clip anything. Aberrant anatomy is no excuse for cutting the wrong ducts or vessels as 20-30% of the population has aberrant anatomy.

Adequate dissection and identification of the triangle of calot is generally enough for the surgeon to be able to adequately visualize the anatomy. However, it is also wise for the surgeon to do an inter-operative cholangiogram. This procedure injects contrast through a catheter into the bile ducts to allow full visualization of the biliary duct anatomy prior to the surgeon clipping and cutting. See ERCP image in previous Missouri injury lawyer article about surgical clips left on common bile duct.

This is the #1 most important issue in most negligent gallbladder operation lawsuits. When done properly a gallbladder removal operation is a relatively easy and low risk procedure. Most cases arise from the surgeon cutting the wrong duct, cutting arteries, or clipping the wrong duct prior to cutting it. All cases of identification of the anatomy.

Few things I have seen often that a surgeon should never do intentionally in this procedure but occurs from negligent identification of the anatomy:

Cut the common bile duct;
Cut an artery;
Clip the common bile duct and leave clips on it, causing an occlusion;
Cut and injure the liver;

A few simple things that should never happen when the anatomy is properly identified. Simple mistakes that lead to wrongful death and serious personal injury with life altering problems.

Full post as published by Missouri Injury Law Blog on March 30, 2011 (boomark / email).