Malpractice litigation in cardiac surgery: Alleged injury mechanisms and outcomes

The feared prospect of involvement in malpractice litigation ultimately becomes a reality for many physicians in high-risk specialties such as cardiothoracic surgery. This study systematically analyzes malpractice claims by procedure type and alleged injury mechanism.

An extensive nation-wide database of medical malpractice claims was searched, and 140 involving cardiac procedures were identified. The primary reason for the lawsuit was classified as a periprocedural injury, postoperative mismanagement, failure to operate in a timely manner or at all, performing an unnecessary procedure, performing a procedure too soon, lack of informed consent, or patient abandonment.

Cardiac surgeons were defendants in 47.8% of cases and cardiologists in 56.4%. Forty percent of cases involved coronary artery bypass grafting, valvular surgery, or both; 50% of these received defendant verdicts. The most common reason for the lawsuit was periprocedural injury, most frequently due to poor prosthetic valve fit/securement (23.1%) or surgical site infection (15.4%). For congenital cases, most lawsuits alleged periprocedural injury, with perfusion-related issues (cooling during circulatory arrest, failure to inform surgeon about poor oxygenation) cited in 37.5%. Cardiologists and cardiothoracic or vascular surgeons were codefendants in 14.3% of cases, most commonly coronary artery bypass grafting (40%) or cardiac catheterizations (25%). In all catheterization cases, the allegation against the surgeon was a failure to diagnose/treat the complication in a proper or timely manner. In postoperative mismanagement cases, bleeding/tamponade was the most common allegation category (31.8%).

A careful review of cardiac surgical malpractice litigation can identify common contributory factors to adverse patient outcomes and catalyze practice improvement.