Lubbock County Texas Medical Malpractice Law Blog

Detecting bladder cancer requires specific tests that look for the presence of cancer cells or tumors. People normally experience some symptoms before seeking medical attention. Ideally, Texas physicians will detect the cancer early when treatments have a greater chance of success. The process involves diagnosing the cancer, removing tumors and monitoring for the spread of cancer.

A patient presenting with blood in the urine, even small amounts, should generally receive a urine cytology test. A physician will look for cancer cells within a urine sample. A more thorough test using a cystoscope that enters the bladder through the urethra might be used to collect samples. The cystoscope could also be applied to get a closer look at suspicious growths and inform a decision about proceeding with a biopsy or surgery.

Some patients in Texas may be aware of the increased use of electronic health records by health care providers. EHRs are quickly replacing the paper medical charts in hospitals and doctor offices throughout the county.

These electronic records have their advantages. Like other computerized systems, they can retain a large volume of patient information and are easily accessible by medical providers. Information can be added quickly and accurately in real time. In addition, electronic records are easily transportable from provider to provider.

Approximately one in every 5,500 surgeries involves a retained surgical instrument. In other words, the patient has a medical device or item accidentally left behind in them after the procedure. Approximately 70 percent of these surgical devices are sponges. While a sponge or a surgical screw doesn't have a large monetary value for a Texas hospital, the price of a medical mistake can be enormous. The costs per each case of a retained surgical device averages $600,000 in damages and legal fees. The annual costs across the nation are estimated to be $2.4 billion.

Because of the high cost, medical device equipment manufacturers are developing technology to help reduce the number of retained devices during surgery. One of these technologies involves embedding an identification barcode into each sponge. This helps track how many were used during the surgery and if any surgical devices were retained within the body cavity. Many hospitals and health care facilities already have policies where nurses and surgeons count the number of devices used before and after surgery. Unfortunately, human errors still occur with this method. In approximately 88 percent of the cases of surgical device retention, the devices were counted out loud.

Hereditary disorders with neurological effects can be medically devastating, but many times people with these disorders need to wait long periods before receiving an effective diagnosis. Two such illnesses include Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, or CMT, and familial amyloid polyneuropathy, or FAP. Both disorders often have an onset around the age of 20, and they can sometimes be confused for one another. A proper diagnosis is critical in order to provide the correct treatment that can significantly improve patients' quality of life.

FAP can appear in a patient's early 20s, but some cases begin later in life in a person's 30s or even 50s. A protein called amyloid deposits in abnormal locations in a person's body, causing nerves related to sensation and movement to deteriorate. These amyloid deposits can interfere with the nerves that regulate heart function as well as urinary and digestive systems. The disorder can lead to heart failure and even death. Research indicates that the genetically linked disorder is caused by a mutation in the TTR gene.