Surgical Site Infections
Even with an estimated 16 million surgical procedures being performed in hospitals in the United States, it’s still surprising that so many SSI’s (Surgical Site Infections) occur each year. According to the CDC, there were an estimated 157,500 surgical site infections that occurred in 2011. A large study a few years ago found that 2 out of every 100 patients that have surgery contracts a surgical site infection. With all the technological advances we have today, you would think that better procedures would be put in place to prevent SSI’s from happening. Surgical infections can happen from any kind of surgery, including:
- Stomach surgeries such as abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
- Limb amputations, including both partial and total amputations of legs, arms, fingers, and toes.
- Appendix removal surgery
- Shunts for dialysis
- Bile duct surgery
- Liver surgery
- Pancreatic surgery
- Heart (cardiac) surgeries including coronary artery bypass grafts, heart transplant or pacemaker implants
- Carotid endarterectomy
- Coronary artery bypass
- Gallbladder surgery
- Colon surgery
- Craniotomy surgery
- Cesarean section (c-section) surgery
- Spinal fusions
- Open reduction of fracture
- Gastric bypass surgery
- Herniorrhaphy
- Hip prosthesis surgery (arthroplasty of hip)
- Heart transplants
- Abdominal hysterectomy
- Knee implant surgery (arthroplasty of the knee) infections
- Kidney transplant surgery
- Laminectomy
- Liver transplant
- Neck surgery
- Kidney surgery
- Ovarian surgery
- Pacemaker surgery
- Prostate surgery
- Peripheral vascular bypass surgery
- Refusion of spine
- Small bowel surgery
- Spleen surgery
- Thoracic surgery
- Thyroid surgery
- Vaginal hysterectomy
- Ventricular shunt
- Exploratory surgery
If you or a family member had an infection after any one of these surgeries, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. Innocent people that have been harmed as the result of negligence on the part of another person, party or entity may be able to file a lawsuit against the party responsible. If you need to speak to a lawyer, contact us today for a free consultation.