TY - JOUR
T1 - Litigations Involving Ureteral Injury Related to Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery
T2 - Lessons Learned from a Legal Literature Review
AU - Kim, Edward
AU - Wu, Harold
AU - Simpson, Khara
AU - Patzkowsky, Kristin
AU - Wang, Karen
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Ureteral injury is a known complication of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery. Despite being discussed preoperatively and included in consent forms, litigations that involve such injury continue to be prevalent. Our aim was to review all major litigations involving ureteral injuries related to minimally invasive gynecologic surgery to determine the most common allegations from plaintiffs and highlight factors that aided defendants. We used Lexis Nexis, a comprehensive legal database, to search all publicly available federal- and state-level cases on ureteral injury related to gynecologic surgeries. Fifty-nine cases resulted from our search. Of these cases, 19 were deemed pertinent to our question. These 19 cases occurred between 1993 and 2018. The most common allegations included medical negligence, lack of informed consent, and medical battery. Eight of 19 cases (42%) were decided in favor of the defendants, 3 of 19 cases (16%) in favor of the plaintiffs, and the remaining cases proceeded to further trial or are ongoing. The monetary compensation to a plaintiff was as high as $426,079.50. Meticulous documentation, comprehensive consent procedure, timely postoperative evaluation, and the use of immediate postoperative cystoscopy were the critical factors that aided the defendants. Meticulous documentation, a comprehensive consent procedure, timely postoperative evaluation, and the use of immediate postoperative cystoscopy can aid minimally invasive gynecologic surgeons involved in litigations involving ureteral injury.
AB - Ureteral injury is a known complication of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery. Despite being discussed preoperatively and included in consent forms, litigations that involve such injury continue to be prevalent. Our aim was to review all major litigations involving ureteral injuries related to minimally invasive gynecologic surgery to determine the most common allegations from plaintiffs and highlight factors that aided defendants. We used Lexis Nexis, a comprehensive legal database, to search all publicly available federal- and state-level cases on ureteral injury related to gynecologic surgeries. Fifty-nine cases resulted from our search. Of these cases, 19 were deemed pertinent to our question. These 19 cases occurred between 1993 and 2018. The most common allegations included medical negligence, lack of informed consent, and medical battery. Eight of 19 cases (42%) were decided in favor of the defendants, 3 of 19 cases (16%) in favor of the plaintiffs, and the remaining cases proceeded to further trial or are ongoing. The monetary compensation to a plaintiff was as high as $426,079.50. Meticulous documentation, comprehensive consent procedure, timely postoperative evaluation, and the use of immediate postoperative cystoscopy were the critical factors that aided the defendants. Meticulous documentation, a comprehensive consent procedure, timely postoperative evaluation, and the use of immediate postoperative cystoscopy can aid minimally invasive gynecologic surgeons involved in litigations involving ureteral injury.
KW - Hysterectomy
KW - Injury
KW - Laparoscopy
KW - Litigation
KW - Malpractice
KW - Ureter
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85058230131&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85058230131&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jmig.2018.11.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jmig.2018.11.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 30453075
AN - SCOPUS:85058230131
SN - 1553-4650
JO - Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology
JF - Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology
ER -