Surgeon Resects Wrong Part of Colon During Cancer Removal Surgery

Case Overview

This case involves a 60-year-old male patient who underwent a colonoscopy and was deemed to have cancer of the transverse colon. The surgeon involved began the resection procedure by removing part of the descending colon before recognizing that the cancerous lesion was isolated to the transverse colon. The patient now experiences chronic digestive complications related to the aggressive removal of a healthy bowel.

Questions to the Surgical Oncology expert and their responses

What is the standard of care in properly identifying the location of cancer before initiating a resection of the bowel?

The standard of care in resecting any type of cancer is to study the diagnostic imaging before taking the patient into surgery and the surgeon should have a working knowledge of what needs to be removed preoperatively. For a surgeon to blindly resect the descending colon without having unequivocal evidence that the cancer has invaded that portion of the colon is negligent to say the least.

About the expert

This qualified, board certified expert frequently performs paraesophageal hernia repairs and occasional other diaphragmatic hernia repairs. He is an actively practicing, board certified surgical oncologist who is extensively published in his field. He also holds clinical assistant professorships at several regional hospitals, and is the vice chairman of a surgical advisory committee at a major medical institution.