Surgical Error Leaves Woman With Foul Smelling Discharge From Her Abdomen
A 68-year old woman has won close to $34,000 in a medical malpractice surgical error case after a tummy tuck operation left her with foul smelling discharge from her wound and missing a belly button….
A 68-year old woman has won close to $34,000 in a medical malpractice surgical error case after a tummy tuck operation left her with foul smelling discharge from her wound and missing a belly button.
When Patricia Jackson lost a large amount of weight at age 60 she was left with loose skin around her belly that made her feel self conscious. She decided on an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and booked herself into a private clinic for the procedure in 2005.
The manager of a residential home from Yorkshire, England Patricia believed that the surgery would help to improve her appearance. However what Patricia didn’t know is that the surgeon who performed the operation was to fail in his duties in the most awful way and leave Patricia with horrendous results.
Surgical Errors Cause Patient Injuries
Patricia’s surgeon got rid of the extra skin and fat around her abdomen and tightened the muscles in her abdominal wall. However they did not create a new belly button for her as there was not enough skin left over; something that is not overly uncommon in this type of surgery. A year after the surgery Patricia began to experience pain and discharge from her stomach and when she went in for a check-up doctors decided to keep her in overnight after an ultrasound revealed an infection under her scar.
Several doctors and specialists failed to realize that the pain and discharge was caused by her old belly button that was left inside her breaking down, instead they blamed it on a infected stitch. They treated her infection and dressed and drained her wound.
Patricia felt well enough to travel abroad to Portugal on a holiday with her husband in 2011. However on her way back she noticed blisters had formed around where her old belly button should have been. Suddenly while on the flight traveling home her belly button exploded, leaking a foul smelling discharge from her abdomen that was so strong passengers around her began to complain about the smell. An air stewardess helped Patricia dress the wound but the embarrassment caused her severe pain and upset. When she was back in the UK she was taken immediately to a different hospital and her belly button was reconstructed. It was here that they realized the cause of the infection and the leaking. A settlement was reached out of court and Patricia won compensation from the surgeon who had made the surgical error.
Get Help after Medical Errors
Surgical errors are not uncommon as doctors and other medical staff in the operating room are often negligent in their duties. One small surgical error can cause a lifetime of suffering and illness for a patient, including more operations down the line.
If you have questions or concerns about a surgical error, contact MedMalFirm.com. Our team is ready to answer your plea and help you and you family bring those negligent surgeons, doctors and other medical staff to justice.
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Meagan Cline is a professional legal researcher and writer. She works alongside the team at MedMalFirm.com to provide readers with up-to-date information relevant to the healthcare and legal industries.