Ureter And Bladder Injuries

Abdominal and pelvic operations, such as hysterectomies, can be complicated by surgical errors that are the result of medical negligence or malpractice. Common surgical error is injury to one or both ureters (tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the bladder) and to the bladder. If the surgeon fails to properly identify, and protect, the ureters, injury may result. In that situation, the ureter can become entrapped, transected, or damaged by the heated instrument the surgeon uses to remove the uterus from the abdominal cavity. Bladder injuries are a common complication of certain surgical methods for hysterectomies, and therefore, are not always the result of medical malpractice.

Ureteral injuries and bladder injuries may not be discovered during the surgery, or even during the patient's post-surgery recovery in the hospital. Unfortunately, it is often not until the patient presents to her treating physician, days or weeks after the surgery, with complaints of flank pain, fever, abdominal distention, prolonged intestinal backup, or watery vaginal discharge that the injury is discovered.

A delay in diagnosis of ureteral and bladder injuries can be associated with significant issues, including the formation of a ureterovaginal fistula (an abnormal passageway between ureter and the vagina that presents as urinary incontinence) or even loss of kidney function. Treatment varies depending on the location, type and extent of the injury and when the injury was discovered. Delayed diagnosis of ureter and bladder injuries can form the basis of a medical malpractice case.