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Review of Surgical Care Provided to the Late Congressman John Murtha

Posted on Feb 18, 2010

CNN reported on February 17, 2010 that the National Naval Medical Center has opened an inquiry into the surgical care provided to the late Congressman John Murtha in connection with a laparoscopic gallbladder surgery performed on January 28, 2010. Three days after his surgery, Murtha was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital and he died there on February 8, 2010.

It is widely believed that during the laparoscopic gallbladder procedure, Murtha’s intestine was nicked causing a leakage of bowel contents and a resulting infection.

The review being performed is typical in cases of an unexpected death like this and is to determine if Murtha died as a result of a preventable surgical error. Typically, this would include a “mortality and morbidity conference” involving caregivers and other hospital officials to review exactly what happened; a “quality assurance investigation” by medical experts not involved in the matter and a review by the hospital’s patient safety committee.

It is reported that as many as 500,000 laparoscopic minimally invasive gallbladder surgeries are performed each year in the United States, with relatively few complications. Injury to the bowel is thought to be rare and the American College of Surgeons indicates that death as a result of such surgery occurs in approximately 1 out of every 1,000 patients.

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