Many years ago I wrote, “The problem with laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery is it leaves the impression that tiny incisions mean a simple, uncomplicated way to perform an operation. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as catastrophic complications can happen.” Recently, a Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) survey confirmed the potential dangers of keyhole surgery. So what went wrong to cause a $ 1,000,000 settlement?
The CMPA reviewed 423 surgical cases involving keyhole surgery. It revealed that patients suffered a number of injuries to the bowel, blood vessels, nerves, and reproductive organs. There were 46 deaths.
Operations that resulted in the most trouble were hysterectomy, other gynecological procedures, removal of the gallbladder, appendix and kidney.
