Becker's Spine Review

15 SPINE SURGEONS Oregon Jury Awards $4.5M after Failed Spine Surgery Affects Patient's 'Love Life': 5 Things to Know By Laura Dyrda A n Oregon jury awarded the plaintiffs in a failed spine surgery case $4.5 million aer a procedure "seriously altered [the patient's] sex life with his wife," according to a report in e Oregonian. Here are five things to know: 1. e plaintiff, who was 27 years old at the time of surgery, and his wife filed suit against the neurosurgeon and his practice. 2. e plaintiff underwent a corrective proce- dure in October 2013. However, according to the report, the plaintiff alleges his neurosur- geon did not remove the ailing disc and didn't tell him there were complications with his procedure. e neurosurgeon claims he did inform the plaintiff about the failed surgery. e plaintiff experienced worsening pain and began to have trouble urinating. He reported numbness in his genital region; the symptoms continue to persist. 3. A Circuit Court jury found the neurosur- geon at fault for the plaintiff 's injuries and awarded the plaintiff $94,000 in economic losses and $3.5 million in noneconomic dam- ages "for pain and suffering." e jury award- ed the plaintiff 's wife $1 million "for loss of consortium with her husband." 4. An Oregon Supreme Court ruling in 2016 limits plaintiffs from collecting more than $500,000 in noneconomic damages, a cap originally set in 1987. e Oregon state leg- islators debated raising or abolishing the cap earlier this year. 5. e neurosurgeon is no longer performing surgery, but continues to practice medicine. n Washington Jury Awards Patient $1.2M for Negligent Spine Surgery — 5 Notes By Megan Wood A Washington jury ruled in favor of a pa- tient injured during a spine surgery. Here are five notes: 1. The jury awarded the plaintiff $1.2 mil- lion in the medical malpractice case. 2. The jury found Michael Thomas, DO, of Yakima, Wash.-based Cascade Neurosur- gical Associates, negligently performed spine surgery on the patient that resulted in severe spinal deformity for three years. 3. Dr. Thomas performed the scoliosis sur- gery in July 2011. 4. Testimony revealed Dr. Thomas deliv- ered sub-standard care and did not prop- erly follow up after surgery. As a result, the patient suffered chronic pain and her spine shifted to a forward, left-leaning position. 5. In 2014, Lawrence Lenke, MD, corrected the deformity with another surgery. n 5 Things to Know about Back Pain Patients Reporting Maximum VAS Scores By Laura Dyrda A new study published in The Spine Journal examines patients who report the maximum pain scores on the visual analog scale. There were 160 individuals examined for the study who reported a 10 out of 10 pain score on the VAS scale during initial presentation. The patients were diagnosed with lumbar degenerative disc disease with and without spinal stenosis. The study authors found: 1. Patients who reported the maximum VAS pain scores improved three points between their first visit and last follow-up after treatment. 2. After treatment, patients who reported initial maximum VAS scores were more likely to improve by 40 percent or more than patients who reported initial VAS scores under 10. 3. Identifiable secondary gains were more common among the patients who reported maximum VAS scores than those who reported submaximal pain. 4. Factors associated with dramatic pain score improvement — at least four points or more — include: • Older age • Not have secondary gains from their disease • Non-smokers 5. Patients who continued to report maximum pain scores throughout treatment were more likely to be smokers. "Our analysis supports the need to consider the influence of secondary gain on patients' reported VAS scores," concluded the study authors. "Maximum pain seems to be a more acute phenomenon with some likeli- hood to significantly improve." n

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