What are Surgical Complications?
According to the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, almost 100,000 people in the U.S. will die each year from medical errors. About half of these are related to surgical complications. Surgical complications are a reality of all surgical procedures and can happen to any patient and any surgeon at any time. In fact most operations, have known complications that are considered “accepted” adverse events. These tend be grouped in many ways including infectious (e.g. wound infection) vs. non-infectious (e.g. heart attack), potentially preventable vs. unpreventable, and minor vs. major.
Luckily, most complications are minor and resolve with straightforward treatment without affecting the long-term well-being of the individual.
A small but significant number of patients, however, will suffer major life-altering complications that require prolonged and complex treatment in order to restore acceptable quality of life and function. Often, treatment will require multiple surgeries and a prolonged period of recovery in order to get back to normal life.
What are Some Risk Factors for Complications?
While risk factors for complications vary based on the specific procedure, there are several risk factors that are common to all procedures.
Severe medical conditions such as:
Malnutrition and immunosuppression either from medications or other disease
Obesity
Reoperative surgery
Other risk factors:
Smoking
Elderly Age
Diabetes
Heart Disease
What are Examples of Major Intraabdominal Complications?
Major intraabdominal complications include:
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- Intestinal leaks
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- Intestinal fistulae (communication of intestine to skin or other organs such as bladder or vagina)
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- Bowel obstruction (blockage)
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- Large abdominal hernias
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- Bile duct injuries
How Can We Help you at Academic Surgical Associates?
First and foremost, at Academic Surgical Associates, we perform meticulous surgery with the goal of minimizing complications in the first place. More simply, we do not rush through surgery and strive to get it right the first time.
If you have already had a surgical complication, we can help you get your life back. The physicians at Academic Surgical Associates serve as a tertiary level referral resource for patients and insurers for complications that require complex surgical repair. We are experts in the repair of complex intestinal fistulae, leaks, large abdominal wall hernias, bowel blockages and bile duct injuries. We know the complexity of your journey back to health and will be there with you the entire way.
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