Lawyer Monthly Magazine - July 2019 Edition

Are there any particular ENT surgeries that commonly end up in court? Why? Any operation has the potential for risks and sometimes problems and complications occur in what we would deem the least complicated surgery. For example, removing tonsils can lead to bleeding or prolonged pain or infection, and because of that, regardless of how minor the operation may be, all of these risks must be discussed. What it really boils down to is consent and effective management of the problems at hand. When would you advise clients to take their dissatisfaction from surgery to court? Going to court should be a last resort. Patients may be unhappy but it doesn’t always mean there has been any negligence or reduction in standards; if a problem occurs, rather than going to see a solicitor first, the best thing is to go back to your surgeon and discuss what you are not happy with. It may be something very simple to remedy. Patients may forget what was said prior to surgery and what they had agreed to, so it is important to have the conversation first. It is only when speaking to the surgeon does not resolve the problem, that patients should consider speaking to the hospital, or undergo mediation; when all the other avenues have been explored and no progress has been made, one should consider going to a solicitor. It otherwise should not be the first port of call. Patients have a lower threshold, over the past ten years especially, to seek legal redress, but if they do it too soon, it will transpire that there isn’t any negligence and time and money has been wasted. My advice is that if the patient is unhappy with any surgery, to go and see the doctor or surgeon and discuss that first. What could be done to reduce botched surgeries in rhinoplasty? Assuming the surgeon is on the medical register with the certified qualifications, every surgeon would go out to do the best job that they can. But the thing is, in rhinoplasty and other cosmetic procedures there are risks and even the best of surgeons can have problems they don’t expect. You may finish a rhinoplasty procedure and when the patient is on the operating table waking up, all may be fine, but post operation, there may be bleeding or infection, and it may not heal in a way that is intended, but that may not mean it is due to the fact it the operation was done negligently. The patient may have knocked their nose or injured themselves or irritated/ disrupted the healing process. If you have done enough surgeries, at one point you would have experienced some form of complication. In order to avoid botched operations, you have to ensure the surgeons are trained and qualified well. Even if you go abroad to have the operation done; it is the quality of the surgeon which matters, not the price they are offering to conduct the surgery. LM After working as a Consult- ant Surgeon in the NHS for over 25 years, Mr Lancer has decided to focus ex- clusively on his Private Practice. He has been a Consultant Surgeon for 30 Years and has exten- sive experience. He deals with all Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) except head and neck cancer and his special interests are in rhinoplasty and otology. Mr Lancer has carried out over 2000 rhinoplasty op- erations, and over 2000 major ear operations. Mr Lancer has written over 50 publications along with 2 books. HE attends Court approximately six to eight times a year as an Expert Witness, conducting medi- colegal work for claimants and on the occasion, de- fendants, JACK LANCER “ My advice is that if the patient is unhappy with any surgery, to go and see the doctor or surgeon and discuss that first. JUL 2019 49 Expert Witness www. lawyer-monthly .com