In Houston, Texas, two new lawsuits have been filed against Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, alleging serious injuries resulting from surgical errors during heart transplants at the facility. The lawsuits, filed on Friday in Harris County District Court, raise the total number of malpractice complaints against St. Luke’s or its personnel to five since a comprehensive investigation by the Houston Chronicle and ProPublica revealed alarming complications and deaths associated with the hospital’s heart transplant program.
The federal government interrupted Medicare funding for heart transplants at St. Luke’s in August due to the hospital’s failure to implement necessary changes to enhance patient outcomes. The hospital is currently appealing this decision.
One of the lawsuits alleges that a surgeon sewed a major vein closed during a heart transplant performed in February 2017, which led to severe complications for the patient, including a significant emergency repair procedure and an extended hospital stay of three months. The second lawsuit claims that during a heart transplant in October 2016, a surgeon mistakenly sutured the colon to the diaphragm, resulting in life-threatening infections and necessitating multiple surgeries to prevent further health decline.
Both plaintiffs survived their respective surgeries but reportedly continue to deal with debilitating complications. The lawsuits were announced amid ongoing investigations and operational changes at the hospital, which has faced scrutiny for the clinical practices within its heart transplant program.