The diagnosis stunned both Kavecic and her family physician but the biggest shock came after the surgery when routine post surgical tests revealed her stomach was cancer-free. Her biopsy tissue samples had been switched with those of another patient, who in fact did have stomach cancer, resulting in the removal of her perfectly healthy stomach.
]]> Due to language translation issues, it is difficult to fully understand the outcome of this case, but it appears that Kavecic was awarded €40,000 in compensation. From what can be discerned, it also appears there may have been insurance limitations involving coverage of a medical error. She has sought expert legal counsel to negotiate a higher compensation.
As with many cases documented in this blog, such as the case of Janelle Trenchfield who underwent an unneccesary lumpectomy, Kavecic's case involved an unnecessary surgery due to a Specimen Provenance Complication (SPC), e.g., specimen transposition, foreign cell contamination or patient misidentification. However, this is the first case we have covered involving removal of a healthy stomach which brings with it a completely different set of issues and post surgical concerns. The American Cancer Society provides further details of a total gastrectomy, which also includes the removal of lymph nodes, as well as potential side effects of the surgery.
According to the article referenced above, the hospital had no procedure in place to prevent this type of complication from resulting in an adverse patient outcome. The know error® system, introduced in 2009 by Diagnostic, ID LLC, was designed specifically to detect this type of SPC and to prevent resulting unnecessary treatments and surgeries. The know error® system utilizes DNA Specimen Provenance Assignment (DSPA) to confirm that a positive biopsy result belongs to the right patient before proceeding with treatment plans.
For more information about the know error® system, please visit our website www.knowerror.com.
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