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Daniel Ludwick
10/4/17
Amputation Gone Wrong
In 1995, Willie King, a fifty-one year old heavy-equipment operator and, now, victim of a cruel mistake, was admitted to a hospital in Florida on February 20 to have a surgery. The hospital that he went to was the University Community Hospital. Little did he know, he would become a millionaire because of it. King’s leg was so badly diseased that he had to have it amputated. The disease was due to his diabetic illness. Amputation, in general, is scary to think about. The surgeon performing this surgery made a huge mistake.
When King came to this hospital, he had no clue what was in store for him. He went into the operating room, explaining which leg was diseased. King was to have his right leg amputated just below the knee. The surgeon seemed to understand, but what happened next proved that he did not. When King woke up from his surgery, the wrong leg was amputated. His left leg was mistakenly taken off. The surgeon thought that he was amputating the correct leg at first, because the person who wrote down which foot it was, wrote down the wrong one. The nurse prepared the wrong foot for surgery. This proved that medical error was bound to occur. Both of King’s feet looked damaged, due to his diabetic issue. So, it would make sense that the surgeon make a mistake at first. However, it is his job
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to help the patient, which he did not. Could anyone imagine the terror King must have felt in the moment in which his good leg was taken off instead of the bad one? Luckily, King got the money that he deserved when the University Community Hospital in Tampa was charged $900,000 in fines. The surgeon, Dr. Rolando R. Sanchez, was charged $10,000 and a six-month suspension of his medical license. The surgeon even paid King, personally, for this horrific mistake. Sanchez paid him $250,000 for all of the physical and emotional damages that were given to him. In total, King received $1.5 million. Other doctors stood up for Sanchez by explaining that they, too, would have made the same mistake. Doctors who were witness to the terrible accident, explained that the right foot would have to be amputated in the future, anyway, because it was in such bad shape. But, that was not enough to convince the judge not to sentence such hefty fines upon these workers who were involved. King later got the correct leg amputated.
It was amputated at a different hospital. He learned how to walk using artificial legs. The surgeon’s mistake truly affected this man. King was inflicted with so much emotional and physical pain due to this horrific accident.
King has made an impact on all of society to this day. He has shed light on the topic of patient's’ rights. The procedures involved to perform any surgery had to be changed due to this accident, so that it did not happen again on future patients. His name is known by many people because he has changed the way that many surgeons perform and carry out their
surgeries. Hospitals are supposed to be a safe and careful environment for all humans to rely on. This particular hospital did not provide that feeling of security after what happened to King. Many people heard about this mishap, I’m sure, and most likely chose not to go to the University Community Hospital. The hospital lost a lot of money within these years because of the mistake of a surgeon. This surgeon did not have the requirements that one must possess in order to handle situations like this. I believe that Sanchez should have lost his license for longer than he did. He made this horrid mistake that caused such emotional and physical damage upon this poor individual. No man deserves that type of torture put upon him, like King did. This type of experience can cause post-traumatic stress disorder and many other mental illnesses because of what can happen to the mind after a horrific event. This accident was a huge stressor in King’s life that he did not need. As a diabetic, he already had many other things to worry about. Now, this just added to the list of stressors. These types of things happen to people more than we think. Cases, much like King’s, occur very often and make it to court. However, not many get heard. I believe that we should stand up for patients’ rights and be more careful in the workplace, to avoid any accidents like this one. The more careful hospitals and their workers are, the better the world will become.
Dr. Atul Gawande, a Harvard Medical School graduate and writer for The New Yorker, phenomenally illustrates the unknown side of healthcare professions in his book, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science. By exploring the ethical and analytical aspects of medicine while entertaining readers with relatable anecdotes, Gawande impresses on his audience the importance of recognizing the wonders of the healthcare field, as well as the fallibility of those within it.
Popular television paint a glorified image of doctors removing the seriousness of medical procedures. In the non-fiction short story, “The First Appendectomy,” William Nolen primarily aims to persuade the reader that real surgery is full of stress and high stakes decisions rather than this unrealistic view portrayed by movies.
In the book Complications, Atul writes about his experiences as a surgical residents and demonstrates a point of view of surgery that does not idealize it, but instead displays the actual pressure and complexity it actually is. Atul Gawande speaks to fellow surgeons, surgeons to be or simply those who believe that the study of surgery is just memorizing procedures, nonetheless it’s so much more complex due to the fact that every case that arrives is different. He is able to portray the complexity of surgery by putting his readers in heart racing situations faced by doctors, explaining step by step procedures, giving his personal stories of cases he has assisted in at the hospital as a resident. Atul Gawande appeals to his reader’s attitude
Resection was a process that “involved cutting open the limb, sawing out the damaged bone, and then closing the incision” (Jones, 1). Resection allows the patient to keep his limbs but it requires a great ordeal of time and skill. This also contributed to the common practice of amputation during the war. But there were cases where surgeons did use this method. Terry J. Jones said in his NY Times article, “resections were used more frequently after surgeons learned that amputations had a much higher mortality rate” (Jones, 1). In another article by Corydon Ireland, it describes Mitchell Adam’s, a Harvard lecturer, grandfather who served as a volunteer surgeon during the Civil War. In the article, “Adams was not a champion of hasty amputations, but argued for excision and other limb-saving measures. And he describes the everyday pressures of a country practice in Framingham, Mass” (Ireland, 1). This meant that not all surgeons at the time only wanted to amputate but strived for alternate methods. This new knowledge shows that some surgeons were more dedicated to thinking about the well-being of their patients than others and this opens up to other possibilities that may have occurred during the war. This allows an image to come to mind of a surgeon diligently operating on a soldier with care and compassion. However, even though there may be many possibilities, we can’t truly know every event that occurs during a
Modern technology has helped with the growth of many medical discoveries, but the original ideas all had to start from somewhere. One of the most famous surgeons in the medical world, Ambroise Pare is responsible for many of this generation’s practices. Ambroise Pare was born in 1510. He was a French surgeon, and later advanced to do his work as a royal surgeon for kings Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. From there, he went on to become one of the most influential people in medical work this world has seen. Because of him, many are still able to learn and grow from his teachings. Ambroise Pare impacted many people and ideas of medicine because of the innovative ideas he shared, the lives he saved, and the legacy he left behind.
In the book, Better by Atul Gawande, the author writes about his experience as a surgeon and his trials and deliberations along the road. The author splits up his books three ways, Part 1 is Diligence, Part 2 is Doing It Right, and Part 3 is Ingenuity. Each part takes a certain place and time in Gawande’s career. Each of the stories are breathtaking and very personal as he takes us through his eyes of what can only be described as impossible conditions and choosing the best outcome to better himself and the world.
...has put these people there for a reason. You always think your problems are bad until you go and see others. These doctors make it possible for children to have all of their limbs. We have been blessed by this hospital.” (Rudder).
The Power of Mistakes Atul Gawande is not only our resident surgeon; he’s also a patient himself. He’s anxious before performing surgery, he dwells on mistakes, and he has emotions: he’s human and he understands us. However, he does not appear to share concerns with his patients initially. Gawande experiences a long, drawn-out development from a young medical student to the doctor he is today. This process of identifying with patients is evident in his anthology of essays, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science.
King never got to see this. He was shot and killed on April 4, 1968. In 1983
This book (the last lecture), is filled with awe-inspiring circumstances. Of course life can come with some hurdles or challenges, but the tendency for Randy to handle his medical situation with phenomenal valor, is an outstanding qualities that shows leadership and focus on what matters to him, his family, and vision before he moved on to the next realm.
Carole Lauren is a 44 year old mother of two, a wife, and a school teacher by profession. Her story began 21 months ago when she had a cerebrovascular accident that left her hemiplegic. Almost two years passed since the event. Carole regained most of the lost function in her left leg, ankle, and foot. However, she still has limited function in her left arm and hand. She also has difficulty organizing her thoughts and read her message from a paper. Her story is about a journey through the health care system.
He arrives off the plane from Africa, knowing the United States has the best prosthetics. He wheels in on his wheelchair, huffing and puffing, out of breath from all the pushing he has to do. He is hoping the United States will have the prosthetic he wants. He waits for the doctor to call him in his office. The doctor calls him in and then goes back to get the prosthetic. He waits anxiously for the doctor to come back with the finished product.
Mobility grants opportunity and lifelong experiences through the gift of exploration and independence. Without autonomy of movement in one’s life, there are struggles accompanied by frustration do to the lack of freedom and ability. It is an orthopedic surgeon’s job to bring function to one’s life even if they have never been granted movement without restraint before. Orthopedic surgeons receive patients whose freedom of movement have been compromised and then return it back to them. Orthopedic surgeons give immeasurable opportunities and life experiences back to their patients because of their perseverance and commitment to their patients and careers.
The two controversial topics discussed below share a single goal: to enhance the quality of life of a human individual. The first topic, transhumanism, is a largely theoretical movement that involves the advancement of the human body through scientific augmentations of existing human systems. This includes a wide variety of applications, such as neuropharmacology to enhance the function of the human brain, biomechanical interfaces to allow the human muscles to vastly out-perform their unmodified colleagues, and numerous attempts to greatly extend, perhaps indefinitely, the human lifespan. While transhumanist discussion is predominantly a thinking exercise, it brings up many important ethical dilemmas that may face human society much sooner than the advancements transhumanism desires to bring into reality. The second topic, elective removal of healthy limbs at the request of the patient, carries much more immediate gravity. Sufferers of a mental condition known as Body Integrity Identity Disorder seek to put to rest the disturbing disconnect between their internal body image and their external body composition. This issue is often clouded by sensationalism and controversy in the media, and is therefore rarely discussed in a productive manner (Bridy). This lack of discussion halts progress and potentially limits citizens' rights, as legislation is enacted without sufficient research. The primary arguments against each topic are surprisingly similar; an expansion on both transhumanism and elective amputation follows, along with a discussion of the merit of those arguments. The reader will see how limits placed on both transhumanism and elective amputation cause more harm to whole of human society than good.
The previous insert from William Lee Adams’ article, Amputee Wannabes, describes a 33-year-old man’s wish for amputation of his foot. There was nothing physically or medically wrong with this limb; John only stated that he did not feel comfortable with his own body and felt as though his foot was not a part of him. John’s leg was amputated above the knee, and he went on to describe that the operation resolved his anxiety and allowed him to be at ease in his own body (Adams, 2007).