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Over 100 Years Of Service

A closer look at common unnecessary surgeries

On Behalf of | Mar 19, 2015 | Failure To Diagnose

Some of those in Bennington who come to see us here at the offices of Donovan and O’Connor regarding medical malpractice issues do so not because of inaction by their doctors, but rather because those providers did too much. Misdiagnoses that lead to unnecessary surgeries and procedures can present a real danger to patients. In this post, we’ll examine some of those surgeries that are often performed unnecessarily.

Information collected by the National Practitioner Data Bank and reported by USA Today shows that more than 1,000 health care providers have had to settle lawsuits following accusations of having performed unneeded procedures on patients since 2005. Those who undergo these procedures often find that their impact can last a lifetime. Listed below are just some of the more common surgeries believed to frequently be performed unnecessarily, and the effects that they can have on patients:

  •          Cesarean section: C-sections are performed more than any other surgery in the U.S. Yet many attribute this high occurrence to doctors giving up on the option of vaginal deliveries too quickly. Women who’ve had C-sections run a greater risk of suffering a placental abruption during subsequent pregnancies.
  •          Joint replacement surgery: Recent studies have suggested that benefits that joint replacement surgery is meant to provide are questionable. Patients who undergo these procedures often show the same results as those who choose to pursue non-surgical treatments. Statistics also show a higher incidence of heart attacks among those who’ve undergone joint replacement.
  •          Hysterectomy: Hysterectomies are often viewed as the preferred method of treatment for a variety of conditions, some of which don’t even involve the uterus directly. Unnecessary hysterectomies can have a drastic impact on younger women who’ve yet to finish having children.

For more information on procedures resulting from misdiagnoses, visit our Failure to Diagnose page.