Docs Facing Malpractice & Fraud Charges After Breast Augmentation Goes Wrong

In a recent case out of Roanoke a female patient had a series of difficulties following her breast augmentation surgery. First, the surgeon, Dr. Carol Wray, left a sponge under the implant that allegedly lead to several complications necessitating the removal of the implant.

According to the recent opinion, Dr. Wray told the patient about the sponge but said that the complications were not related to the sponge. One of the nurses at the Lewis-Gale Clinic, Katherine Vaughan, confirmed this to the patient and told them that there was no legal claim because the sponge wasn't the cause of the problems.

They retried the surgery (on the Clinic's dollar) and again the implant had the same problems and was removed. Finally, they did another surgery to insert an expander to make room for a future implant and ease the acceptance process. Right before she was sent into the OR for this surgery, the patient was given a release and a check for the cost of the original surgery. That release was an agreement holding the defendants not liable in return for the cost of the surgery.

Now that's shady. I wonder if it happens a lot or if this is just an aberration. Let's hope it is.

The latest I've seen on this medical malpractice and medical fraud case can be found here.