An anesthesiologist from another state could be in hot water after some five patients at an eye clinic who were being treated for cataracts became blind, according to local sources. Delaware residents may be shocked to hear that the medical professional is believed to have committed surgical errors on five patients in the same day back in May 2014. This has brought up the possibility not only of a malpractice suit against the anesthesiologist but also against the clinic where he was employed.
The report states that the anesthesiologist was responsible for “eye-blocking,” a process that involves injecting anesthetic into the eye of a patient in preparation for cataract removal. This is a fairly routine procedure, as evidenced by the clinic having 45 such treatments lined up for the same day. However, five of those individuals reported being unable to see out of the eye that was treated.
Further investigation into the bizarre chain of events, which have left other eye surgeons baffled as these results are usually extremely rare, revealed that the anesthesiologist may not have been properly vetted before being hired. Professionals have suggested the errors could have been prevented. It appears it may have been the fault of the anesthesiologist for causing this damage.
When surgical errors of this nature are committed by an ostensible medical professional, the results for patients can be disastrous. In this case, as Delaware residents no doubt agree, the loss of sight for all five of these patients is unforgivable if it was, in fact, preventable. It may be in the best interests of these patients to seek out support in filing a malpractice suit against the anesthesiologist and the clinic that hired him.
Source: The Boston Globe, “5 cataract surgeries, 5 people blinded: What went wrong?”, Liz Kowalczyk, Aug. 14, 2016
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