Türk Nöroşirürji Dergisi 2004 , Vol 14 , Num 3
Evaluation of Cases of Spine Surgery Malpractice Discussed Between 1994 and 1998 in High Health Council
Erdem ÖZKARA1, Sait NADERİ2, Ümit Naci GÜNDOĞMUŞ3, Nuri ARDA2
1Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Adli Tıp AD. Balçova, İzmir
2Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Nöroşirürji AD. Balçova, İzmir
3Kocaeli Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Adli Tıp AD. Derince, Kocaeli
Medical malpractice may occur as a result of spine surgery procedures. Turkey still does not have any specific regulation for medical malpractice . Based on the current regulations, in case of medical malpractice the opinion of the High Health Council (HHC) is required. In this study, charts of 10 out of 866 cases discussed in HHC in a five-year period (1994-1998), in part related to the spine surgery, are reviewed.

Based on the evaluation of the HHC, physicians were found to be faultless in four cases, faulty in two cases and neglectful in one case. There was no decision in three cases due to inadequate documentation.

It is concluded that optimal patient care, standard training in the field of spine surgery, as well as establishing of the regulations are essential to avoid medical malpractice. Anahtar Kelimeler : Liability, medical malpractice, spine surgery