Reese Alyssa D, DiNardo Lauren A, Gupta Soumya, Powers Kristina F, Colca Samuel, Carr Michele M
Otolaryngology, University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, USA.
Otolaryngology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, USA.
Cureus. 2025 Mar 25;17(3):e81192. doi: 10.7759/cureus.81192. eCollection 2025 Mar.
Introduction Tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy are common procedures performed by otolaryngologists that can result in complications for which patients may seek compensation. Medical malpractice case analyses may offer insight into how clinicians can avoid risk and improve patient satisfaction. We aimed to comprehensively characterize litigation after mastoidectomies and tympanoplasties in the United States. Methods The Westlaw Campus Research legal database was searched for all available court decisions associated with claims of medical malpractice after tympanoplasty and/or mastoidectomy in the United States between 1975 and 2022. Information on the plaintiffs' relationships to the patients, patient characteristics, states where the procedures took place, specialties of the defendants, allegations, surgical and postoperative complications, and adjudicated case outcomes was collected. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Results Fifteen cases that took place between 1976 and 2019 involving tympanoplasty (n = 2 (13.3%)), mastoidectomy (n = 4 (27.7%)), both tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy (n = 8 (53.3%)), and revision mastoidectomy (n = 1 (6.7%)) were reviewed. Most of the cases involved patients who were >18 years old (13/15 (86.7%)) and female (8/15 (53.3%)). An otolaryngologist was listed as a defendant in almost all cases (14/15 (93.3%)), and a hospital, surgery center, or otolaryngology practice was listed in 7/15 (46.7%) cases. The most common (13/15 (86.7%)) reason given for medical malpractice was negligent technique. Resulting injuries included facial nerve injury (5/15 (33.3%)), brain injury or infection (3/15 (20.0%)), death (2/15 (13.3%)), and a retained foreign body (1/15 (6.7%)). Most cases (11/15 (73.3%)) were ruled in favor of the defendant, and most (12/15 (80.0%)) were affirmed on appeal. Conclusions There are few claims of medical malpractice after tympanoplasty or mastoidectomy in the United States that are decided in court. Injury to the facial nerve or brain was associated with the plaintiff winning in the cases analyzed in this study.
引言
鼓室成形术和乳突根治术是耳鼻喉科医生实施的常见手术，可能会引发并发症，患者可能因此寻求赔偿。医疗事故案例分析有助于深入了解临床医生如何规避风险并提高患者满意度。我们旨在全面描述美国乳突根治术和鼓室成形术后的诉讼情况。
方法
在Westlaw Campus Research法律数据库中搜索1975年至2022年间美国鼓室成形术和/或乳突根治术后与医疗事故索赔相关的所有可用法院判决。收集有关原告与患者的关系、患者特征、手术实施所在州、被告专业、指控、手术及术后并发症以及已判决案件结果的信息。计算描述性统计数据。
结果
回顾了1976年至2019年间发生的15起案件，其中涉及鼓室成形术（n = 2（13.3%））、乳突根治术（n = 4（27.7%））、鼓室成形术和乳突根治术（n = 8（53.3%））以及乳突根治术翻修术（n = 1（6.7%））。大多数案件涉及年龄大于18岁的患者（13/15（86.7%））且为女性（8/15（53.3%））。几乎所有案件（14/15（93.3%））都将耳鼻喉科医生列为被告，7/15（46.7%）的案件中列出了医院、手术中心或耳鼻喉科诊所。医疗事故最常见的原因（13/15（86.7%））是技术疏忽。由此导致的伤害包括面神经损伤（5/15（33.3%））、脑损伤或感染（3/15（20.0%））、死亡（2/15（13.3%））以及异物残留（1/15（6.7%））。大多数案件（11/15（73.3%））判定被告胜诉，大多数（12/15（80.0%））在上诉时得到维持原判。
结论
在美国，鼓室成形术或乳突根治术后经法院判决的医疗事故索赔很少。在本研究分析的案件中，面神经或脑部损伤与原告胜诉有关。
