When it comes to surgery, there are areas of the body that are more dangerous to work on than others. In addition, there are also certain procedures with a high risk of mistakes being made due to how difficult and involved they are. While all surgeries have a risk associated with them, these five are the most dangerous.
Separating Conjoined Twins
While twins born joined superficially can be cut apart quite easily, twins joined by the trunk, head, or other vital areas often die in the attempt. Even if the surgery does not sever any major arteries, or have other deadly complications, separating the twins’ blood supplies often causes loss of blood pressure and death.
Brain Surgery
The brain is not only the seat of human intellect and nearly all involuntary body systems, it is delicate, and its tissue dies when exposed to blood. To make matters even more dicey, a lot of brain surgeries involve using a bone saw to carve away at the protective skull. For these reasons, brain surgeries are among the most dangerous medical procedure available. If the surgery does not go according to plan, ramifications can include personality changes, paralysis, loss of function to any part of the body, or even death.
Heart Transplants
The heart pumps all of the blood through the body, so transplanting one involves slowing down the circulatory system until it has almost stopped. This involves cooling the body down until the heart rate is very slow, then routing the patient’s blood through a machine that takes the place of the heart. While great strides have been made to make this procedure safer, it is still extremely dangerous. Of course, any failure during the procedure could mean canceling before the diseased heart is removed or, tragically, the death of the patient.
Liver Transplants and Shunts
Due to the enormous blood volume flowing through the liver at any time, any procedure involving it is risky. Transplants and the placing of shunts are both invasive and complicated, as even the smallest misstep can cause massive internal bleeding, blood pressure complications, and death. According to a Steven W. Harris attorney, if a person suffers a lacerated liver in an accident, an accident attorney usually places great weight on that in the prosecution due to how serious any liver surgery can be.
Major Spinal Surgeries
While a simple disc laminectomy is done very quickly and usually without any complications, major surgeries such as rodding or decompression treatments are often risky, marathon efforts. The smallest miscalculation can lead to life-long paralysis, infections and death.
Many surgeries are seen as routine, but some are extremely dangerous. These five procedures carry with them huge risks for life-long complications and death.
