Surgical Robot Errors Continue

 Posted on July 30, 2013 in Defective Medical Devices

As a patient, you expect that you'll be safe every time you enter a doctor's office or operating room. In some cases, you're handing over your life to the doctors and medical professionals responsible for your care. The newest craze in medicine is the use of robots, generally managed by physicians themselves. When accidents happen, however, it can become necessary to meet with an Illinois personal injury attorney for representation. Unfortunately, errors in robotic surgery are just as common, and can have serious impacts on the patients involved.

That was certainly the case for Oregon's Heidi Carlson, who felt months of pain in her abdomen and hip after her September 2012 hysterectomy. The robot system used in her surgery was developed by da Vinci surgical system. After her procedure was complete, Carlson started experiencing serious pain in her hip and notified her doctor.

Her physician directed her to complete physical therapy, acupuncture, and even injections, but none of these fixes stopped her pain. After several months of Carlson insisting that the pain was still bothering her, the doctor finally arranged for a CT scan. The scan uncovered the source of her discomfort: a pen tip sized piece of metal that was left behind in the surgery process. The metal piece was grinding against her hip, resulting in serious and ongoing pain for the patient.

Although robotic surgery options certainly represent a great leap forward in medical technology, defective medical procedures can reduce the quality of life for a patient who becomes a victim. Complications from surgery can have lasting effects on a patient who might not even realize that errors were made during the surgery. Da Vinci has already come under fire for other problems with their surgery robots, presenting a serious conundrum for patients who aren't offered an option outside of robotic surgery. If you've been the victim of a botched robot surgery, you need the guidance of an Illinois personal injury lawyer.