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A woman who thought her vision would improve with laser eye surgery has been left with double vision and severe headaches.
During the surgery, the doctor used a small-sized treatment pack where a medium-sized one was required, but this was not discovered until after the procedure.
The error meant that the “flap” where the laser needed to cut was smaller than expected and the laser was unable to cut the cornea completely. The doctor completed this part of the surgery manually, but said this “turned out to be more difficult than anticipated.”
Since surgery in October 2017, the woman has experienced severe headaches, blurred and double vision, and migraines.
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In a report released Monday, Health and Disability Commissioner Anthony Hill found that the ophthalmologist violated the Health and Disability Services Consumer Rights Code by not having established verification procedures during laser eye surgery.
vanessa bumbeers / unsplash
Surgery was supposed to improve his eyesight. Instead, he was left with double vision and severe headaches. (File photo)
There was nothing in the woman’s notes to indicate that she had been informed of the risks of the surgery.
She told the Health and Disability Commission (HDC) that she did not recall any conversations about the risks, but said she vaguely remembered the receptionist saying there were “1 in 100 or 1 in 1000 chances of a complication.”
Hill was concerned about the lack of notes on the information provided to the patient about the risks of surgery, and said the clinic’s consent form was “rudimentary and not specific in terms of complications.”
The patient also told the HDC that they administered sedatives in the waiting room before they gave her the consent form to sign.
Hill was also instrumental in the ophthalmologist choosing to complete part of the surgery manually, rather than abandoning the procedure and allowing the cornea to heal before performing treatment later.
The doctor said he had considered abandoning the procedure, but initially thought it would be relatively straightforward.
Hill said the responsibility for making sure the correct size treatment package rests with the ophthalmologist, criticizing the fact that the clinic doesn’t have any procedures to make sure they don’t get mixed up.
The clinic is no longer in operation, but Hill recommended that the ophthalmologist conduct further documentation training and an audit of their informed consent process over the past six months.
He also recommended that the doctor apologize to the woman.
Since then, the woman has had ACC-covered retreatment surgery with a different doctor.
