Although colonoscopies are a routine and highly recommended medical procedure to aid in early diagnosis of colon cancer as well as a host of other intestinal diseases, they are complicated procedures that require a high level of training and care.  Unfortunately, there are many cases of medical negligence during colonoscopies that can have devastating results to the patient.

A colonoscopy is the examination of the large colon and the distal part of the small bowel which is performed endoscopically using a CCD or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus.  It is a relatively routine screening test for people 50 years of age or older.

Although colonoscopies rarely result in long-term harm to the patient, complications such as heavy bleeding, intestinal perforation (poking a hole in the bowel), infection, adverse reaction to the sedatives, and bowel infection can occur, leaving the patient with permanent injury or even death.

In one such case, a man underwent a colonoscopy for nausea, vomiting and unexplained weight loss. The day after the procedure, the patient’s wife called the doctor who performed the procedure and explained that her husband was experiencing a lot of pain. The doctor assured the patient’s wife that everything was fine. The following day the patient’s wife called back because her husband could no longer walk due to the pain. Rather than examining the patient, the doctor instead prescribed pain medication over the phone. Unfortunately, the medicine did not provide any relief. The next day, despite three calls to the doctor’s service, the family was unable to get in touch with the doctor. They waited another day to go their local emergency room at which time the patient was diagnosed with a bowel perforation and a severe infection.  Emergency surgery was required to remove a portion of the patient’s colon.  Not surprisingly, there is now a pending medical malpractice suit against the doctor.

When it comes to side effects and post operative complications for colonoscopies, time is of the essence.  Post procedure nausea, vomiting, fever, lethargy, bleeding, abdominal pain and/or swelling must be reported to a physician immediately.

If you or someone you know has suffered debilitating medical complications following a colonoscopy, it is critical that you contact an experienced medical attorney to discuss your situation and learn exactly what your rights are.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 12:51 pm and is filed under Medical Malpractice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.