Malpractice During Gallbladder Surgery
Gallbladder removal surgery is performed about 500,000 times a year in the United States. The procedure is also called “cholecystectomy,” and it is often performed laparoscopically. Mistakes are often made during these procedures, leading to serious patient injuries and a large number of medical malpractice lawsuits.
The gallbladder sits near your liver and its job is to store bile until it is needed for the digestive process. During gallbladder removal, surgeons need to be very careful because the gallbladder sits close to other important structures, including the common bile duct (carrier bile from liver to intestines), the cystic duct (connects gallbladder to common duct) and the hepatic artery (supplies blood to liver).
The most frequent surgery malpractice errors occur when the surgeon fails to properly identify the anatomical structures, and consequently the wrong structures are clipped off with an errant staple, or severed by an errant scalpel. The most frequent error leading to major injury is when the surgeon mistakenly clips across (or even cuts through) the common bile duct. This allows bile to leak into the abdomen damaging other organs. Another major mistake causing injury is inadvertently clipping the hepatic artery. This reduces blood flow to the liver and can lead to major liver damage.
Following gallbladder removal surgery, surgeons, patients and patient’s family members should be aware of signs of complications. These can include things like:
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Severe or persistent abdominal pain
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Fever or chills
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Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes)
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Dark urine
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Light-colored stools
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Nausea and vomiting
If you or a family member experiences any of these symptoms after gallbladder removal surgery, it would be wise to contact the doctor immediately.
If you would like to obtain a free consultation for your possible case, please reach out to us and we will try to help.