Are Unnecessary Procedures Considered Medical Malpractice?

It seems strange that in an era where getting clearance for a new band-aid requires 3 approvals from your insurance company, 7 doctors opinions, and an act of Congress, that thousands of unnecessary surgeries and other procedures are performed every year. Some instances where this happens might be classified as malpractice and some may be impossible to prove.

Nearly 300 people have accused a prolific Munster, Indiana heart doctor of malpractice for implanting pacemakers or defibrillators they didn’t need and routinely scheduling unnecessary procedures, among other allegations.

Medical Malpractice

The sweeping claims against Dr. Arvind Gandhi and other practitioners at Cardiology Associates of Northwest Indiana could take years to unwind, and they may change the calculus that sets surcharges physicians pay to the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund. That fund covers malpractice claims beyond practitioners’ insurance limit of $250,000, up to the statutory cap of $1.25 million.

What if your doctor recommends that you have a knee replacement, you have it done, and later you feel that you are in worse condition than you were before? Is that malpractice? Maybe.

No one likes “maybe” for an answer, but it’s going to depend on several factors, and this is why certain attorneys specialize in the area of unnecessary procedures, and they investigate each case to see if negligence or malpractice is involved.

Six common surgeries that are often unnecessary include:

1. Cardiac Angioplasty, Stents

This invasive procedure involves inflating a thin balloon in a narrowed artery to crush plaque deposits; a stent (a wire mesh tube) is often then left behind to keep the vessel open. When used during a heart attack, an angioplasty can quickly open a blocked artery to lessen the damage to your heart, and when used in this way can be lifesaving.

2. Cardiac Pacemakers

Pacemakers are used to correct heartbeat irregularities, but research shows that more than 22 percent of these implants may be unnecessary.6

3. Spinal Fusion Back Surgery

If you have low back pain and see different specialists you will get different tests: rheumatologists will order blood tests, neurologists will order nerve impulse tests, and surgeons will order MRIs and CT scans. But no matter what tests you get, you’ll probably end up with a spinal fusion because it’s one of the “more lucrative procedures in medicine,” author Shannon Brownlee says – even though the best success rate for spinal fusions is only 25 percent!

4. Hysterectomy

The surgical removal of the uterus may be recommended inappropriately in 70 percent of cases, often because of a lack of adequate diagnostic evaluation and failure to try alternative treatments before the surgery.8 Some surgeons also remove healthy ovaries during hysterectomy as a ‘precaution,’ sometimes without the patient providing their consent or being informed as to the severe adverse effects the ovariectomy may produce on their remaining quality of life.

5. Knee and Hip Replacement, and Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

Patients who were informed about joint replacements and alternative treatments had 26 percent fewer hip replacements and 38 percent fewer knee replacements than those who did not.9 Arthroscopic knee surgery for osteoarthritis is also one of the most unnecessary surgeries performed today, as it works no better than a placebo surgery.

6. Cesarean Section

Cesarean delivery is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in the US and rates are increasing. But research shows rates vary 10-fold among hospitals, even among low-risk pregnancies,13 suggesting that practice patterns, not necessity, are driving these high surgery rates.

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