lower leg. And when there are telltale signs of DVT, like shortness of
breath, lung pain and chest pain, they often don't show up in patients
until after you've discharged them. Of course, blood clots can break
off and travel to another part of the body, such as the lungs. This is
called a pulmonary embolism, or PE, and it can be fatal. PE claims the
lives of up to 300,000 Americans every year.
The good news is that DVT is completely treatable if caught in time.
It's also a largely preventable complication, as long as you identify
which patients are most likely to develop it ahead of time. Once you
6 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J A n U A R Y 2 0 1 8
Six years ago, 52-year-old Edward Smolinski fell from his work
truck, ruptured his left quadriceps tendon and went to the hospi-
tal for surgery. Two weeks later, court records show Mr.
Smolinski was back in the hospital, complaining of a shortness
of breath, chest pain and malaise. These are common symptoms
of a pulmonary embolism, but Mr. Smolinski's symptoms
weren't reported to the hospital's doctors and no tests were per-
formed to rule out the possibility that he was suffering from
deep vein thrombosis (DVT). One month later he was dead from
a pulmonary embolism due to DVT he developed after surgery,
according to a lawsuit filed by his family.
Mr. Smolinski's family sued the hospital, Elm-hurst (Ill.)
Memorial Hospital, arguing that the staff didn't administer
anticoagulants, didn't recognize the symptoms of DVT and
didn't do anything to prevent the pulmonary embolism. The
family won a $3 million verdict against the hospital in
november. — Anna Merriman
MISDIAGNOSED DVT
Lawsuit Blames Undetected DVT for Man's Death
