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F.6 Cranial neurosurgery medicolegal cases in Canada: a ten-year analysis of Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2023

G Garber
Affiliation:
(Ottawa)
P Finestone
Affiliation:
(Ottawa)
R Liu
Affiliation:
(Ottawa)
T Barry
Affiliation:
(Ottawa)
K Tourigny
Affiliation:
(Halifax)*
S Barry
Affiliation:
(Halifax)
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Abstract

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Background: Neurosurgery is a high-risk specialty with a low margin of error. We aim to assess the risk of neurosurgeons being involved in medicolegal cases in Canada. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study evaluated ten years (2012-2021) of closed legal cases, college cases, and hospital complaints against neurosurgeons with data from the CMPA. Included cases were cranial cases, VP shunts, or cases where a catheter or wire was inserted into the brain. Cases excluded angiography, radiation, ultrasound, or percutaneous procedures. Results: We identified 77 cases (66 urgent or emergent). Neurosurgeons had a significantly higher medicolegal risk than the CMPA surgeon membership, however lower risk compared to all physician specialties. Legal cases accounted for 69% with favourable outcomes in 52%. Forty-one cases involved post-operative complications and 16 cases involved VP shunts. Multiple surgeons or residents could be involved spanning age groups and years in practice. Thirty-four cases had a harmful incident, 41% of these severe. The majority of cases occurred at urban centers. The average case duration was 41 months. Conclusions: This study provides a recent medicolegal analysis of cranial neurosurgery in Canada. We identified areas of common complaints and hope the data can be used to mitigate risk surgical risk in the future.

Type
Abstracts
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation