A Coral Gables hand surgeon's repeated surgical errors lead to fines and courses
The medical industry is full of highly-qualified professionals who help save and better people’s lives. However, time and time again, they remind us that they are human at the end of the day and prone to mishaps and misdemeanors.
As reported by the Miami Herald on July 23rd a board-certified hand surgeon in Coral Gables is under scrutiny for a serious surgical mistake—operating on the wrong joint, not once but twice. Dr. Elizabeth Ann Ouellette's repeated errors have resulted in significant fines and educational requirements, raising concerns about patient safety and medical practice.
Learn more about the surgical error and the surgeon’s history of similar mishaps below:
A costly error: Surgeon fined for wrong-site surgical error
Dr. Elizabeth Ann Ouellette, a licensed and board-certified hand surgeon, faces the consequences of a surgical mishap she committed in 2019. During the procedure, intended for a patient's right index finger's first joint, she mistakenly performed an arthrodesis on the joint between the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint and the fingertip.
As a result, the patient experienced severe consequences, leading her to seek corrective treatment from another provider.
A troubling history of mistakes
Regrettably, this is not the first instance of wrong-site surgery for Dr. Ouellette. Her Florida Department of Health profile reveals a similar incident in 2002, where she operated on the wrong finger during a "trigger release surgery." Despite her extensive credentials, including board certifications in hand specialty, these repeated errors raise concerns about patient safety and her surgical practice.
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Did you check her hand specialty board certification with the agency? Or, did you get that -- and everything else in this story -- from my story on Dr. Ouellette that appeared last week in The Miami Herald?
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article277578228.html