Why Spinal Post Surgical Infections Could be Fatal: Portland Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Post Surgical Infections After Spinal Surgeries: Why They Can be Fatal and Lead to Wrongful Death as Explained by Portland Medical Malpractice Lawyer

 

While all procedures and surgeries come with the risk of infection, the risk can unfortunately be increased due to Oregon medical malpractice.  One type of surgery which has this risk particularly devastating and dangerous, potentially leading to wrongful death, is a spinal surgery.  This includes surgeries such as a discectomy or nerve ablation, all the way to a full fusion.  There are many reasons why these types of surgeries carry very dangerous risks if they are improperly performed and infections are caused.  Ask a Portland medical malpractice lawyer if your post surgical infection after a spinal surgery was due to medical error.

 

Why Post Surgical Spinal Infections Are Deadly

 

Surgeries performed on your back are inherently dangerous.  It is a procedure to a very vulnerable area of your body—your spinal cord.  This is part of your central nervous system and sends messages from the rest of your body to the brain, and back down from the brain to the rest of your body.  This includes motor function and sensation.  It is your messenger highway.  Thus, any damage to this area or an infection could be paralyzing.

 

But even without considering the vulnerable aspect of your spinal cord, here are some reasons why infections after spinal surgeries are so dangerous and could be fatal:

 

• Bone infections – drilling into the vertebrae is a risky venture because of the close proximity to the spinal cord, but it can also introduce bacteria into the vertebrae due to an unsterilized drill, improperly sterilized equipment, or breach in sterilization protocol;
• Back infections that you cannot monitor – One of the obvious risks of spinal surgeries is that the patient cannot monitor the incision site well.  This is particularly true for individuals that live alone.  The entire area will hurt after a surgery and it is normal for there to be some discharge, but being able to assess whether the discharge is from normal. healing process or infection can be difficult if an individual lives alone.  This allows infections to fester and even turn to abscesses;
• Tissue infections – to access the spine, there are several layers of tissue including muscle, tendons, and other fibrous tissues which protect the spine and form the muscle-skeletal system.  Thus, there are many different layers which could be affected by bacteria or other infectious materials.  This also means there are more layer for a surgeon to cut through, which leaves more places for infections to occur; and
• Nerve injuries – infections news nerves are dangerous because they can damage the nerve.  The nerve may be able to heal itself and guard against the infection, but it may suffer a neuroma.  This could affect the way signals are sent throughout the body.

 

Did You Have a Post Surgical Infection After a Spinal Surgery?  That May be Oregon Medical Malpractice

 

There are many reasons why infections occur after any procedure or surgery, including unavoidable risk.  But some of these infections are due to breakdowns in proper protocol and safe practice.  These can be due to Oregon medical malpractice and when it is post spinal surgery, these infections can be debilitating and even deadly.  If this happened to your or a loved one, please call our Portland medical malpractice lawyer to learn more.  We accept cases throughout Oregon, including Central Oregon, Deschutes County, Salem, Portland, Eugene, Gresham, Hillsboro, Medford, and any other city, including Bend, Oregon where our law office is located.  

 

Please call Kuhlman Law, LLC by dialing (541) 385-1999 to learn what your rights to compensation you may have.  You may also contact us using our easy and convenient “contact us” box at the bottom of our website.  If we accept your case, we will conduct a thorough investigation to get you the answers you deserve, all for free.  There is no risk, and you only pay us if we recover compensation for you.