Esophageal Perforations due to Anesthesia Malpractice: New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Understanding Esophageal Perforations Due to Anesthesia Malpractice from our New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Anesthesia errors are common enough that anesthesiologists are one of the most sued medical specialties.  These errors usually include an overdose or inadequate perfusion, such as blood pressure issues.  Other anesthesia errors could be caused by the physical way that the anesthesia is administered.  Most times this results in mouth damage, particularly tooth damage.  But one of the most serious instances of anesthesia malpractice is an esophageal perforation, which is usually New York medical malpractice.

Is Esophageal Perforation Rare?

It is uncommon for there to be an esophageal perforation because an anesthesiologist should not be placing anything in your esophagus.  But when an anesthesiologist is there, it is likely that a mistake has taken place or is going to take place.  It is likely New York medical malpractice which could result in damages such as pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earnings, medical bills, and other damages.  

What is Esophageal Perforation?

An esophageal perforation is when the esophagus is torn, punctured, penetrated, or otherwise compromised.  This is a severe injury which can be very painful.  The risk of infection is extremely high, which can lead to sepsis in the chest cavity; this can be a death sentence.  An esophageal perforation also could swell up and even block the airway is the perforation is high enough.  Surgical intervention is required to repair an esophageal perforation.  There could be permanent damage to the esophagus which means that conditions like acid reflux and heartburn could become new ailments for a person.  It also means that a person could have an increased risk of cancer and other inflammatory diseases of the esophagus.

Emergency Situations

An esophageal perforation should not occur during a routine surgery with routine anesthesia.  The standard of care would dictate that a medical professional should never cause this type of injury, except in an emergency situation to save a patient’s life.  An example of an emergency situation is not readily known off the top of our head, but it may exist in certain allergic reaction cases or cancer cases where the esophagus needs to be biopsied or removed.

Hearing From You

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.