https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2026/06/ohsu-told-13-year-olds-parents-she-was-dying-before-seattle-doctors-discovered-massive-mistake-17m-suit-says.html?outputType=amp
Basically, OHSU is being sued for a surgeon implanting a cardiac valve upside down, and unsurprisingly the 13yo patient did not do well post op. For three days post-op she was maintained on ECMO and told by the team that there’s no clear explanation for inability to wean off ECMO. They were having end-of-life discussions, but ultimately parents chose to take her up to Seattle Children’s, where it was discovered that the valve was implanted incorrectly. Patient had a redo surgery and thankfully recovered.
Curious if anyone here has more experience with pediatric cardiac surgery or imaging. I don’t know if there can be any explanation besides negligence in terms of the actual implanatation-gone-wrong. Also, once the surgery was completed and patient wasn’t doing well, shouldn’t there have been echo evidence that the new valve was just… not opening? I wonder if this was a pulmonic valve case where admittedly that valve is a tough one to image/visualize, but still… Yikes. I’m glad the kid eventually had a recovery.