During a procedure to treat a woman's colon cancer, doctors made use of a surgical robot. However, the device was said to burn her small intestine, which was followed by different procedures, eventually leading to her death. Her husband has now filed a lawsuit against the robot's maker.
Surgical Robot Burns Small Intestine During Procedure
Back in 2021, Sandra Sultzer went through a procedure at the Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Doctors were utilizing the da Vinci surgical robot when the bot accidentally burned the woman's small intestine, forming a hole.
According to the lawsuit, she experienced a thermal injury that further led to perforation and required more medical intervention. Sandra kept on experiencing abdominal pain as well as fever. Because of the injury, she needed to go through more procedures. Eventually, she passed away in February 2022.
Lawsuit Filed
Her husband, Harvey Sultzer, filed the lawsuit this month that claims that Sandra's death was a proximate and direct result of the injuries that she had. Harvey now seeks damages from the surgical robot's maker, Intuitive Surgical. The company has 3,174 robots all over the world.
The suit claims that the company was aware of the insulation problems of the robot, which could lead to the leaking of electricity and burning of internal organs, but did not reveal the risks to the Sultzers or the general public. It also claims that the company sells bots to hospitals that do not have any robotic surgery experience and that they do not train surgeons properly regarding device use.
The company does have a training program. However, a 2018 news investigation noted that the provider cannot legally require surgeons to undergo and finish it.
In the past, the provider has been a subject of scrutiny from the Federal Drug Administration for injuries experienced during operations where the robot was involved.
In previous reports, the FDA investigated that the robot had cracks within a small rubber sleeve on a metallic piece. This could enable the escape of electricity and lead to internal burns.
The lawsuit notes that Sandra was not made aware of the more complications that come with robot-assisted surgeries in comparison to procedures involving the usual laparoscopic instruments.
It further notes that the company has been hit with around 93 product liability lawsuits alleging that there were patients who went through such procedures and ended up suffering from injuries or even dying. The lawsuit claims that there are thousands of defect and injury reports linked to the surgery.
With this, the company is being sued for more than $75,000 for product liability, negligence, punitive damages, and loss of consortium.
The company released the da Vinci system's first version back in 1999. This was back when robotic surgery was still quite novel. The system was approved by the FDA after a year.
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