Surgeon’s Qualifications Allegedly Lacking in Malpractice Case

A renowned surgeon was named in a malpractice lawsuit alleging that he had not satisfied the hospital requirements for permissions to practice his patient’s specific surgery. The surgery in question had been an attempt to repair a woman’s mitral valve. Far from going smoothly, the repair operation ratcheted up the patient’s blood pressure, inducing pulmonary hypertension and causing her tricuspid valve to fail. When the surgery was not preceded or followed by an echocardiogram, the patient claimed, there was no way for doctors to determine how severe the valve failure had been or what preventative measures were necessary. The surgeon’s qualifications were then questioned, and the consequent case needed an expert in clinical medical administration to assess whether the surgeon should have performed a mitral valve repair operation in the first place.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. Do you routinely oversee privileges afforded to surgeons within your healthcare organization, based on their credentials and certifications?

2. Do you still actively perform or train others in surgical procedures?

Expert Witness Response E-013174

I have been a member of my hospital's credentials committee for nearly thirty years. I have also authored two multispecialty credentialing documents for endovascular credentialing and serve as the chairman of the department of vascular surgery. Additionally, I am regularly involved in credentialing surgeons for endovascular procedures.