A cervical mediastinoscopy is a minimally invasive outpatient surgical procedure used to biopsy lymph nodes in the center of the chest. Surgeons performing this procedure make a small incision just above the breastbone, insert a lighted scope, and safely collect tissue samples.
This procedure carries few rare risks. One of those complications, occurring in less than one percent of cases, is a tear in the esophagus, the tube that carries food and liquid from the mouth to the stomach. A tear in the esophagus is a medical emergency. If not treated quickly, food, stomach acid, and bacteria can leak into the chest or abdomen, causing inflammation and life-threatening infections. The best outcomes for esophageal perforations occur when addressed within 24 hours.
Larger tears are often treated with a removable covered stent, which is designed to seal the tear and allow the esophagus to heal. It is important that surgeons are diligent and place these stents properly to prevent further injury.
The Townsley Law Firm represented her and recovered a settlement of over $950,000.
Two Errors, One After the Other
This case involves a compounding sequence, where a string of failures further complicated our client’s condition.
The first error was the perforation itself. A cervical mediastinoscopy is performed near delicate structures in the neck and chest, including the esophagus. Performing it safely requires careful technique to avoid injuring those structures. When the esophagus is torn during this procedure, food, stomach acid, and bacteria can leak into the surrounding tissue, creating a serious risk of infection and requiring prompt treatment.
Instead, the procedure was performed unsafely and tore her esophagus, leaving a hole in the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach.
The second error was in that treatment. An esophageal stent, a tube placed inside the esophagus to hold it open and seal a leak, is a recognized way to manage a tear in the esophagus. But a stent only works when it is positioned correctly. An improperly placed stent can fail to seal the tear, can contribute to further injury, and can leave the underlying problem unresolved.
Rather than resolving the problem, the sequence left her with repeated tears in her esophagus, multiple periods where she could not eat or drink, significant weight loss, depression and anxiety, and delays in the lymphoma treatment she urgently needed.
What the Compounded Injury Cost Her
The consequences reached nearly every part of her life during an already difficult time.
To allow her esophagus a chance to heal, she was placed on NPO status, meaning nothing by mouth, on multiple occasions. Repeated NPO periods mean repeated stretches unable to eat or drink normally, which contributed to significant weight loss and the physical toll that comes with it. The ordeal also took an emotional toll, leaving her with depression and anxiety on top of the stress of her cancer diagnosis.
Most seriously, the injury and its management delayed her lymphoma treatment. For a cancer patient, timing matters, and time spent managing an avoidable tear in her esophagus is time not spent treating the disease she came to the medical system to fight. That delay is among the most significant harms in the case, because it affected the treatment of a life-threatening illness.
Our client was already fighting cancer. She needed competent medical care to help her through that battle, not additional injuries caused by negligent treatment. Instead, a procedure meant to help diagnose her condition tore her esophagus, and the failed attempt to repair it caused months of unnecessary pain, suffering, and delays in the cancer treatment she desperately needed.
