Intubation Errors / Airway Malpractice
Whenever doctors need to perform a serious medical/surgical procedure on a patient, that individual will likely require some sort of ventilation assistance to breathe during the procedure. In providing ventilation assistance, over 15 million intubations are performed in the United States annually.
To assist a patient’s ability to breathe, doctors will “intubate” the patient. Intubation involves inserting a long tube down the patient’s trachea (airway) connected to a ventilator. The ventilator acts as the “lungs” for the patient during the procedure. Although very common, the act of intubation is complicated, complex, and fraught with potentially dangerous complications that could lead to severe, life-threatening (or altering) complications. Read more from the Cleveland Clinic here.
Examples of Intubation Errors and Airway Malpractice
Placement/Removal Injuries to the Trachea / Esophagus / Vocal Cords / Nerves
For starters, sometimes the doctor who is placing the tube in the trachea injures it while the tube is being placed or removed. This occurs despite the thorough guidelines and protocols that have been developed and years of training the doctors have undergone. Injuries to the trachea often consist of perforations or punctures of the delicate tissue that lines it. Naturally, these injuries can be quite painful and often require surgical intervention to repair. In addition to the injury to the trachea itself, intubation procedures have been known to cause other types of injuries such as vocal cord paralysis, perforated esophagus, injuries to the lip, mouth or teeth, nerve damage or infections.
Improper Placement of Tube / Dislodged Tube / Disconnected Tube
More serious complications can occur, however, if the doctor who is placing the breathing tube improperly places it in the patient’s esophagus (not the trachea) or if the tube becomes dislodged or disconnected at any point during the operation. The standard of care for intubating a patient is for the doctor to ensure that the tube is not only placed in the right position within the trachea, but that it also remains there during the entirety of the procedure.
This can be done by taking intra-operative x-rays of the tube’s placement following the placement and/or during the procedure to ensure that it is securely within the trachea. In addition, anesthesiologists and other health care providers must carefully monitor the patient’s oxygenation levels (oxygen saturation levels) to ensure proper amounts of oxygen are circulating through the patient’s lungs and body. If the tube is not placed properly and/or becomes dislodged, the result is that the patient does not receive oxygen for an extended period. When the brain does not receive enough oxygen for an extended period, patients are said to have suffered an anoxic or hypoxic injury to the brain. Patients who experience an anoxic or hypoxic event are at a high risk of suffering a stroke, catastrophic brain injury and/or death.
Contact a Maryland Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been affected by intubation errors or airway malpractice, it is critical to have an informed, detail-oriented, and dedicated medical malpractice attorney who will tirelessly advocate for you and your case. Please contact Andrew G. Slutkin and Ethan S. Nochumowitz for a free consultation at 800-385-2243.