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Investigation: Medical Questions
an ABC Action News report 05/17/06
an ABC Action News report 05/17/06
TAMPA - A bay area woman went into the hospital with stomach pains.
After 13 days and four operations, she was dead.
Her sister blames the doctor for the woman's death.
Friends knew Donna Slack as a vibrant woman, and at the age of 51, the Pasco county resident had much to look forward to.
She had a grown child and hoped for grandchildren.
She loved to play bingo, and friends say she was often the life of the party.
All that changed inside the hospital formerly known as East Pasco Medical Center.
Last October 11th, Donna Slack went in for surgery to alleviate abdominal pain.
Thirteen days later, she was dead.
Elizabeth Slack says, "I think he screwed the surgery up royally. He went back in to cover his butt."
Donna's sister Elizabeth blames her doctor, vascular surgeon Paul Citrin.
Shortly after undergoing surgery Donna developed a fever, went into septic shock and her condition got worse.
Ten days later Donna underwent more surgery, making that three operations in just three days.
Medical experts say that usually means something went wrong.
Elizabeth Slack says, "Even the anesthesiologist kept looking at me and shaking his head. He said, 'You know I don't want to do this.'"
We couldn't locate the anesthesiologist to confirm that comment.
But according to Donna Slack's medical records, when she entered the hospital she did not appear to be in a life-threatening situation.
Her death certificate lists two causes: "Intraabdominal Sepsis", which is a massive infection, and "Mesenteric Artery Occlusion", a blockage in a large artery in the intestine.
Three medical experts who viewed her records have these questions: Did Dr. Citrin perforate Donna's bowel during the first surgery?
Because in his diagnosis, before the second operation, Dr. Citrin acknowedged that Donna had a perforated bowel.
Elizabeth Slack says, "He told me he punctured the bowel. He said he fixed it."
Also, our experts wondered why it took several days to realize Donna was in septic shock?
Dr. Citrin did not return ABC Action News' Matthew Schwartz's phone calls, and a woman at his office said he has no comment.
Dr. Citrin has not been charged in the case and the state wouldn't say whether he's under investigation.
State records show Dr. Citrin got his medical degree from the University of Miami in 1979.
He's certified by the American Board of Surgery for General and Vascular Surgery.
This is not the first time Dr. Citrin has been questioned about his medical
practices.
In other cases he has even been disciplined.
According to the state health department and court records, once Dr. Citrin started to operate on the wrong patient.
He was fined $10,000 by the state and ordered to take continuing education.
Another time, Dr. Citrin left a sponge inside a patient after surgery.
He was sued before reaching a settlement with the patient for that.
In another case, a 30-year old Pasco county woman named Katrina Gibson died during a routine outpatient procedure performed by Citrin in 2001.
Her lawyer sued, saying Citrin punctured the side of a vein near her heart.
A jury placed 60% of the blame on Citrin, but he settled with Gibson's family for $675,000, plus periodic payments to Gibson's daughter.
The state health department tells us there's a total of four closed malpractice claims against Citrin.
The Florida Board of Medicine licenses doctors state-wide.
It meets six times a year to dole-out discipline and make sure doctors are following established safety standards.
When asked about how many doctors the board has disciplined recently, Executive Director Larry McPherson told our Matthew Schwartz , "The doctors who are disciplined by the board of medicine the last several years have been between 240 to 300."
However the state later sent Matthew Schwartz records showing that in the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the latest available, 17 doctors had their licenses revoked.
That's 17 out of 45,000 doctors in Florida.
McPherson says there's no magic number of mistakes a doctor has to make to have his or her
license revoked.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Slack tells us she hopes to file a lawsuit.
Slack says, "And losing my sister like this has taken a piece of my heart. And I'm not gonna let Citrin get away with it. Whatever I have to do, I'm not gonna let him get away it with it."
You can see if a doctor has been disciplined by logging on to the Florida Department of Health's website.
Doing some background checks before choosing your doctor could mean the difference between life and death.
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