joint replacements
Thousands of joint replacement operations are now carried out
each year. Total hip joint replacement and knee joint
replacement are now very established procedures. Considerable
medical advances have made these treatments widely available.
Less commonly smaller prostheses are now possible, including
replacement elbow and ankle joints.
Many of our clients who have undergone
joint replacement were fit and active finding their lives
restricted by osteoarthritis which may have been confined to one
joint. They have sought to achieve relief of pain and also to
be able to return to a full level of functioning in their hobbies
and interests. It can therefore be particularly devastating
when instead of achieving near normal function the surgery fails
becoming complicated by:
- prosthetic failure
- infection of the prosthesis
- injury to adjacent structures
Often these complications can lead to
multiple operations. The prosthesis may have to be removed
and it is not possible to have any prosthesis in place until
infection has settled or the tissues have recovered in preparation
for revision surgery. Failure of a prosthesis can therefore
mean many months of disability, frequently leading to an
unsatisfactory and disappointing outcome. In accordance with
legal authority the surgeon is obliged to act with reasonable care
and skill. However he is unlikely to guarantee “a successful
outcome”. This is where consent issues can become of
considerable relevance.
As a firm with considerable expertise
in this area, we acknowledge that some complications in medical
treatment do occur. There are also some complications of
which a patient is properly warned. However, even when
recognised complications arise, they must still be dealt with
appropriately. Examples of cases we have seen is where:
- the surgical technique of inserting
the prosthesis is inadequate
- infection occurs but is not identified
within a reasonable timescale
- infection is identified but not
treated within a reasonable timescale
- infection is identified and treated
but not sufficiently aggressively
- damage occurs to other structures such
as an artery, leading to a disasterous outcome
When prostheses fail, revision surgery
is always more difficult than the original operation. Frequently
the outcome is less good than would have been possible if the
original surgery had not failed. Treatment options may have to
include:
- staged revision operations
- fusion of a joint, leading to
significant impairment. This leads to a significant disability
- amputation and all the consequences of
requirement for a prosthetic limb
We would pursue damages in respect of
the pain and suffering for the injury itself and the financial
losses to include expenses, care, therapies, further medical
treatment, personal mobility, transport, appropriate accommodation
and compensation for loss of earnings.
For further information please contact
Alison McClure in the
Clinical Negligence team on 023 8085 7345 or email alison.mcclure@bllaw.co.uk.
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