A middle-aged woman who became pregnant through in vitro fertilization suffered severe ramifications, causing the ensuing trial to need an expert in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Already a mother of five children, the patient had previously chosen to give birth by C-Section multiple times, making her a high-risk pregnancy patient. An excess of amniotic fluid was noted in her amniotic sac prior to giving birth, and she proceeded to exhibit pulmonary embolus, as a blot clot developed to block her artery. Despite the doctor’s efforts through venous thromboembolism to prevent clotting, she began to show signs of disseminated intravascular coagulation, with small clots moving to block multiple vessels. Though the patient was placed on an ECMO machine to act as an artificial lung to facilitate blood flow, she eventually required a complete abdominal hysterectomy, removing both her uterus and cervix. After the hysterectomy, her right leg from the knee down developed ischemia and needed amputation, as did all the toes on her left foot.
Question(s) For Expert Witness
1. Do you routinely treat patients like the one described above?
2. Have you ever had a patient develop the outcome or complications noted above?
Expert Witness Response E-032491
Depending on that type of Venous thromboembolism, or VTE, prophylaxis was used to prevent clotting, the doctors in this case could be indisputably liable for the patient’s complications. I am a Maternal-Fetal Medicine practitioner who provides inpatient labor floor coverage 40-60 hours per month, and am also an expert on obstetric VTE prophylaxis who has published extensively on the subject and contributed to major clinical guidelines.
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