Ophthalmologist performed risky surgery despite being put ‘on notice’ by GP’s letter: coroner
The doctor admitted he didn’t consider comorbidities detailed in the referral letter, before performing cataract surgery on a woman with severe COPD.
The death of a woman with end-stage COPD could have been avoided if she had been adequately assessed before cataract surgery, a coroner has found.
Cherie Guest, 61, should have been declared unfit for surgery, according to a Victorian coronial report which criticised her ophthalmologist surgeon and anaesthetist.
Coroner Katherine Lorenz also singled out the Victoria Parade Surgery Centre in east Melbourne for criticism, after it wrongly claimed Ms Guest had demanded the surgery.
In reality, Ms Guest was hesitant about undergoing the procedure, because she could not lie flat without struggling to breath, the coroner found.
