A four year-old boy that underwent a circumcision experienced excessive bleeding over several days, returned for further surgery, was over cauterized and is now facing further surgeries to correct, as stated in a medical malpractice lawsuit and reported by the Courthouse News Service.
The boy's parents, R.D. and D.D., filed the suit naming Dr. D.G. of McAllen as the defendant.
A specialist's confirmation their suspicions, that Dr. J.D. had over-cauterized E.D.'s penis in an attempt to stave off post-operative bleeding, is at the root of the lawsuit. The cauterization caused damage to E.D.'s urethra.
According to the lawsuit the situation began after E.D. had a routine 90-minute circumcision. Dr. D.G. told his parents that the surgery was "successful" and that "there was a little bleeding, but that she and her staff were able to stop it."
However, sometime later a nurse told E.D.'s parent that instead of a little bleeding he was now enduring "a lot of bleeding and that the bleeding did not appear to be stopping." E.D. was taken back in for more surgery to "find out what was happening and to stop the bleeding."
The suit states, "…The defendant came out and told (E.D.'s) parents that she had managed to stop the bleeding using cauterization around the penis area where she thought the bleeding was coming from…During the course of that night, hospital staff had to change the plaintiff's gauze around his penis multiple times. Plaintiff's parents also noticed that the plaintiff oozed blood every time he urinated."
The following day E.D.'s parents were told that his penis would look "beat up for the next couple of weeks" but would return to normal.
In the days following E.D.'s surgery the gauze around his penis had to be changed several times as they became soaked with blood, and, almost as alarmingly, he was urinating from two holes in his penis.
E.D.'s parents took him to see his pediatrician, Dr. S.L., who was the doctor that had referred them to Dr. D.G. They also sought a consult with Dr. C.P. who told them that there was no explanation as to "why the plaintiff was urinating from two holes in his penis..."
The suit states, "In the coming days, the plaintiff screams and cries every time he has to urinate…The plaintiff refuses to drink anything because he does not want to urinate. The plaintiff also becomes very upset with his parents..."
A full week after the circumcision the family was in the Rio Grande Regional Hospital emergency room and received a diagnosis from Dr. D.B., "that the plaintiff's penis looked over cauterized." Further lab tests and a consult with a pediatric urologist were ordered.
Another emergency visit, on April 3, 2011, was prompted when E.D. urinated blood. This time Dr. J.M. called Dr. S.L. who told them that "something had to have gone wrong during the circumcision surgery for this to be happening to (E.D.)"
The pediatric urologist confirmed that E.D.'s "urethra is damaged" and he would require further surgery to remove the fistulas (wholes) that the circumcision created.
At the end of September E.D. had the surgery to close the fistulas, however, according to the lawsuit, "the plaintiff may need more surgeries in the future."
Damages are sought for medical negligence, deceptive trade, breach of warranty and misrepresentation.
If you or a loved one has experienced a negative outcome following a surgery, or another medical procedure, you have grounds for a lawsuit. Click here for our directory to contact a medical malpractice attorney.