Unnecessary Surgery All Too Common

Tens of thousands of patients every year undergo surgeries that are completely unnecessary, according to a review of government data by USA Today. The research, which analyzes data from medical databases, found that patients very often are victims of doctors who profit from billing insurers for surgeries, even when the procedures are not necessary.

Many of the surgeries could have been avoided by using nonsurgical or alternative therapies. In other cases, the patients’ conditions weren’t serious enough to require surgery at all.

A lot of attention has been paid to surgical errors, such as operations on the wrong body parts, wrong-patient surgeries, or surgical items left behind in a patient during surgery. However, cases involving patients who undergo surgeries when they have no need for them have not received as much exposure.

According to the analysis, between 10% and 20% of all surgeries may be unwarranted or unnecessary. These include cardiac procedures, knee replacements, hysterectomies, cesarean sections, and spinal surgeries. Cardiac procedures, including the placement of pacemakers and angioplasty, are more likely to be unnecessary than other types of surgeries. The placement of cardiac stents in patients who really don’t have a need for them is one of the more common unnecessary cardiac procedures performed in American hospitals.

Lawsuits alleging medical negligence filed against doctors who perform these questionable surgeries have mounted. Since 2005, more than 1,000 doctors have been named in negligence lawsuits alleging unwarranted surgeries.

The medical malpractice lawyers at Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC represent victims of medical negligence by doctors, nurses, technicians, and other medical personnel in Seattle and across Washington.

Source:

• http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/2435009