Surgery has become such a commonplace means of addressing medical issues that people often have a flippant attitude about surgical procedures. Although modern medical equipment and training facilitate safe operations in most cases, no surgical procedure is without risk of complication or failure.
Many things can go wrong during a surgery. When you wake up in the recovery room after the procedure, you may feel relieved that everything likely went right. However, some complications only show signs after the surgery.
What issues might affect you even after the completion of the surgical procedure?
Infections
Any time there is a break in the skin, there’s the potential for infection to set in and potentially spread. While incisions made in surgical environments are cleaner than wounds suffered in an outdoor environment, the risk of infection is still there until someone’s incision fully heals.
Incisions that won’t close
Perhaps your surgeon the wrong kind of suture when completing the procedure. Maybe they used a chemical adhesive or sealant instead of physical stitches, despite the specific solution not having approval for the kind of procedure you underwent. Even simple placement issues or omissions in the instructions provided to an individual after a surgery could result in an incision that does not close and heal as it should.
Pain, possibly related to excess scar tissue
Improper aftercare and mistakes during the procedure can both contribute to the increased risk of ongoing pain and serious scarring, including keloid scarring. The scar tissue that develops after surgical procedures can be painful to the point where it affects someone’s range of motion or quality of life.
Blood clots
Any surgery can potentially lead to a deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot in a deep vein. They can lead to swelling of the extremities if they remain in the vein, or they could cause catastrophic consequences if it comes loose and travels to main organs, like the lungs.
Some of these issues are impossible to predict or prevent, but often they are the results of mistakes and oversights by the medical professional performing the surgery or members of their support staff. If you experience significant side effects or complications from a surgery that you believe relate to medical malpractice, you may have grounds for either an insurance claim or a lawsuit against the professional or facility that provided your care.
Holding professionals accountable for medical malpractice can help you reduce the losses you suffer and protect others from the same unfortunate outcome in the future.
