Hospital Halts Stapling Procedures After Death
Patient Dies After Gastric Bypass Surgery
UPDATED: 3:16 pm EST November 5,
2003
BOSTON -- Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston is conducting an internal review after the death of a patient who died last month following a type of gastric bypass surgery that the hospital is now halting.
The preocedure is commonly known as stomach stapling and, according to the hospital, the surgeon realized there was a problem during the surgery and attempted to make a correction. But Ann Marie Simonelli, 38, of Lawrence, Mass., still died three days later, on Oct. 23.The hospital is halting the surgeries performed laparascopically following Simonelli's death."We temporarily halt this activity as a means of coping with this particular situation until we understand what actually occurred," said Dr. Andy Whittmore, the chief medical officer of Brigham and Women's Hospital. The procedure involves a small incision and a laparascope. Open gastric bypass differs in that it requires a larger incision."There was definitely a leak in the gastric pouch. A portion of that closure on the defunctionalized, redundant gastric pouch was not secure. The relationship of that finding to her death is still not understood," said Whittmore.Dr. David Lautz performed the surgery Oct. 20. One possible scenario is that a staple gun misfired while the surgeon was reducing the size of the patient's stomach."There are a variety of different places where things could have gone awry, where the stapler may have malfunctioned, and there are a variety of different ways in which the stapler may have malfunctioned, so we are in communication with the manufacturers of the device, as well as the (Food and Drug Administration) and appropriate regulatory agencies in trying to help us all understand what actually occurred here," said Whittmore.Brigham and Women's Hospital performs about 150 to 250 gastric bypass surgeries each year. To the hospital's knowledge, no one else has died as a result of the procedure at the hospital, but statewide eight people have died as a result of complications resulting from this particular surgery.The procedure has become very popular, with rates rising 60 percent over last year.
Hospital's Statement
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