Dr. Warren Kortz has been charged with 14 counts of unprofessional conduct by the Colorado Medical Board following a series of failed procedures at Porter Adventist Hospital. The state board contends that from 2008 to 2010, Dr. Kortz tore and cut through blood vessels, injured patients through improper positioning and padding, left sponges and other instruments inside patients after closing, and subjected some patients to overly long surgeries, resulting in aborted kidney donations due to the mistakes and possibly death due to complications arising from the surgery. Kortz is also charged with failing to properly document such complications in the patient's medical records.
Dr. Kortz's robotic surgery privileges were suspended by Porter Hospital for three months in 2010, and Porter reported to the medical board that Kortz had complications in 11 surgeries involving the robotic arm. Kortz used the robotic arm in complex kidney surgeries in 2008-2010, when the use of the robot was not the "standard of care" for such procedures. Many of these surgeries went horribly wrong and had to be converted to open surgeries on the spot to fix the problems. The formal complaint against Dr. Kortz can be found here.
An article in the Denver Post documents some the patient cases mishandled by Dr. Kortz. In one case, a 22 year-old woman wanted to donate a kidney to her brother. Dr. Kortz told the patient the robotic arm was the "gold standard" in such surgery without informing her of the lack of an established track record of the device in such surgeries, or other options such as open or laparoscopic surgery. During surgery, Dr. Kortz injured the patient's aorta and was forced to convert to open surgery to stop the bleeding. He then aborted the kidney transplant and closed up. The patient went into post-operative distress, and an x-ray disclosed that a sponge was left inside of her. The patient was also improperly padded on the table, leading to nerve damage after the surgery. She was not the first of Dr. Kortz's patients to suffer such an injury.
Federal Officials Launch Probe into the Safety of Robotic Surgery Arm
The complaint against Dr. Kortz arises as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is seeking more information about robotic surgery mistakes and results across the U.S. The FDA is currently interviewing surgeons after a series of surgical mishaps were reported. Hospitals such as Porter Adventist spend more than $1 million on the surgery units manufactured by da Vinci, and there is financial pressure to utilize the units to recover the investment. The FDA hopes that in interviewing surgeons, they will identify the factors contributing to the rise in reports of surgical mishaps and prevent further injuries from occurring.
Contact Experienced Colorado Medical Malpractice Lawyers for Help
If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of a surgical error or doctor's error or oversight, contact the Colorado medical malpractice attorneys at Paulsen & Armitage, LLC for a free initial consultation and immediate assistance.
