Litigation Support
Post-operative complications with gastric bypass lead to lawsuit.
Featured Case
Figure 1. Article from Boston Globe
Figure 2. Roux-en-Y Bypass
Figure 3. Letter from Defense attorneyCase Details
This suit was filed by Charlie Weis, head coach of the football team at the University of Notre Dame, in the wake of a laparoscopic roux-en-Y gastric bypass performed on 6/14/2002. In this case, two well-known complications, intra-abdominal bleeding and leakage, occurred in the postoperative period.
During a contrast upper GI series, a leak was revealed at the site of the gastrojejunostomy. Two days after the initial surgery, a second surgery was performed. An exploratory jejunostomy revealed that the roux limb was filled with clotted blood, which caused increased pressure in the gastric pouch, in turn leading to leakage of the anastomosis. The physicians irrigated the blood and repaired the leakage. Then, by inserting an endoscope and filling the peritoneal cavity with fluid, the surgeon insured that the anastomosis was intact.
Defense Verdict
Intra-abdominal bleeding and leakage are common postoperative complications of this procedure, so it was not surprising that they occurred in the Weis case. The complications were diagnosed in timely fashion, and further surgery was required to repair the leakage. The second surgery was successful.
APS provides medical exhibits to explain complicated procedures and recognized complications to the lay jury. In this case, we provided a normal-anatomy medical illustration of the digestive system, identifying structures and organs to assist the defendants and experts in educating the jury. We then provided a case-specific medical illustration to explain the roux-en-Y gastric bypass that was performed. We illustrated the laparoscopic ports and the techniques that define a normal Roux-en Y gastric bypass. The doctor could then educate the jury on the details of the case with the assistance of a clear and accurate visual representation of the relevant anatomy.