The Regional Council of Medicine of Paraná (CRM-PR) opened an investigation to investigate the conduct of the medical team that implanted a prosthesis in the wrong knee of elderly Marilda da Silva, aged 72. The case was registered at the Brazilian Red Cross Hospital, in Curitiba.
In a note, CRM-PR informed that, if a violation of ethics is proven in the case, depending on the severity, the doctor who performed the surgery could be punished with warnings and even have his professional registration revoked.
"The Regional Council of Medicine of Paraná (CRM-PR) informs that it is monitoring the case and that it has initiated an investigation process to investigate what happened. If conduct is proven to violate ethical rules, the sanctions provided for in the Law creating the Councils of Medicine range from a confidential warning, and can reach the revocation of professional practice, depending on the degree of guilt and the severity of the consequences determined", informed the CRM-PR in a note.
The Council also informed that the inquiry is confidential, as established by the Code of Ethical-Professional Process (CFM Resolution No. 2,306/2022). To date, neither the CRM nor the hospital have identified which professional was responsible for the surgery. On social media, some doctors from the unit spoke out, claiming that they were not the ones who operated on the elderly woman.
The Red Cross Hospital claimed, also in a note, that it began an internal operation to clarify what happened during the surgery and what procedures were adopted by the team.
Furthermore, the hospital said it is monitoring the patient and providing all necessary support.
"The institution monitored the patient's hospital discharge and initial evolution, maintaining contact with her family and adopting the necessary measures for continuity of care. Considering the interruption of the doctor-patient relationship with the professional previously responsible, the Hospital is scheduling continued monitoring by an orthopedic doctor from its clinical staff, including the evaluation and scheduling of physiotherapeutic treatment, at the appropriate time, as per medical indication", stated the hospital.
Marilda da Silva, 72 years old, was admitted to the Hospital da Cruz Vermelha, in Curitiba, on September 30, to undergo arthroplasty surgery on her left knee, under the agreement. When he woke up from sedation, however, he realized that his right knee had been operated on.
Arthroplasty is a procedure that consists of placing a metal and polyethylene prosthesis on bone and cartilage surfaces that are worn out.
The medical team claimed that the elderly woman, sedated, insisted that the right knee should be operated on. The report is from the patient's daughter, Sabrina da Silva.
"He told me that my mother, sedated, when she was sedated, she was very insistent and she wanted to change the knee right away. And according to him, this is a common thing to happen, and if the patient wants to change it, they change it right away, there is no protocol to follow", said Sabrina. "It's not the patient who should decide this, it's not the family members, it's the doctor, in this hierarchy, he is responsible, he is the one who commands the surgery", he said in a video published on social media.
Sabrina also reported that no marking was made to indicate which limb should be operated on. According to her, the doctor argued that the team carried out an imaging exam before starting the surgery, but that the document was not saved in the system and that she could not access it.
Sabrina stated that she was already called by the hospital for a meeting and that she turned to a lawyer to deal with the situation.
