In July 2010, a 67-year-old woman underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed by Dr. P at a Georgia hospital. When extensive scar tissue was found, the procedure was converted to an open surgery.
In the process, Dr. P encountered excessive bleeding and discovered a tear in the portal vein (which carries blood from the spleen, pancreas, and gallbladder to the liver). Dr. P called in a vascular surgeon, Dr. L, to repair the vein. But the woman had already experienced catastrophic blood loss, and she died in the ICU shortly after surgery.
The plaintiffs argued that Dr. P was behind schedule and rushed through the surgery, inserting a trocar tube without proper visualization and causing the portal vein injury. Dr. P claimed that the scar tissue had caused complications but admitted that he had not inserted a Veress needle into the abdominal cavity to create space around the organs before inserting the trocar tube. Dr. P claimed that this was not negligence, just a departure from his own usual practice.
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