A California medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed by Wayne Wolff and his wife, alleging that Dr. Dean Wang, a UCI Medical Center orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine, diagnosed him with a left medial meniscus tear and mild knee arthritis, after which performed knee surgery on Wolff on April 3, 2024, during which Wang allegedly negligently cut into an artery.
The California medical malpractice lawsuit alleges that Wang advised Wolff’s wife that he had “nicked” a vein during the surgery when in fact Wang cut the popliteal artery, which required Wang to apply a tourniquet for 35 minutes to stop the pulsating bleeding that resulted in the loss of 200 to 250 milliliters of blood.
The first evening after the surgery, a physician and a nurse allegedly could not find a pulse in Wolff’s left foot.
The morning following surgery, Wang allegedly could not find a pulse in Wolff’s left foot, and Wolff informed Wang that he had begun losing feeling in the bottom of his foot and was unable to move his foot or toes. Wang allegedly told Wolff that he was leaving for a two-day medical conference.
Over the course of three days after surgery, Wolff allegedly suffered unrelenting pain that was treated with fentanyl, oxycodone, Dilaudid, and ketamine, which allegedly were ineffective to control his pain.
Despite continuing pleas from Wolff’s wife to the medical staff to order appropriate medical imaging and tests, it was not until the early afternoon on April 5 that a physician ordered an ultrasound, but Wang canceled the ultrasound order less than a half hour later, according to the California medical malpractice lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, when Wang returned on April 6, he ordered an emergency angiogram. Initially, Wang advised Wolff’s wife that Wolff had developed a blood clot in his popliteal artery and that amputation might be necessary. A vascular surgeon performed the angiogram that restored blood flow to Wolff’s leg. The vascular surgeon allegedly advised Wolff’s wife that his leg was ischemic and was not receiving blood flow due to Wang’s cauterization of the popliteal artery. Wang performed surgery on Wolff three days later that found necrosis.
On April 14, 2024, Wolff underwent a below-the-knee amputation.
The California medical malpractice lawsuit alleges, “In the face of medically significant symptomology, Dean Wang, MD, withheld medical care that would have revealed an imminent danger.”
According to the lawsuit, Wolff’s wife asked Wang why he canceled the ultrasound ordered by the other physician and why he never ordered tests to determine why there was no pulse detected in her husband’s left foot, to which Wang allegedly answered both questions with “I don’t know.”
If you or a family member were injured as a result of medical malpractice in California or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a California medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your medical medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your family member in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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