Patient Suffered Permanent Nerve Damage Due To Botched Saphenous Vein Harvest
This case involves a gentleman in his 60s who suffered needless injury due to medical negligence during his preparation for a coronary bypass surgery (CABG). In preparation, the doctors planned to perform an endoscopic vein harvest of the patient’s saphenous vein. The patient was placed under general anesthesia, and a physician’s assistant endoscopically attempted to remove the necessary saphenous vein from the patient’s leg. Due to lack of proper supervision and experience, the PA mistakenly removed a large portion of the patient’s saphenous nerve instead of the vein, causing permanent and avoidable nerve injury in his leg as a result of the physician’s assistant failing to follow the standard procedure for vein harvesting.