Opinion ID: 852345
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Spar's Prior Medical History

Text: Spar underwent emergency surgery and spent approximately two months in an intensive care unit after an auto accident in 1986. She suffered a detached liver and her spleen was removed. Because the accident and subsequent surgeries resulted in extensive scarring to her abdomen, Spar consulted plastic surgeon McKay McKinnon shortly after her recovery. Dr. McKinnon performed a series of scar-revision procedures on Spar in 1987, 1989, 1991, and 1994. Before each procedure Dr. McKinnon and Spar discussed the risks of surgery, including bowel perforation, inflammation, infection, pain, and possible need for additional surgeries. In 2000, after Spar experienced abdominal pain, she was diagnosed with gallstones and her gallbladder was removed in July of 2000. Before the procedure, general surgeon M. Nabil Shabeeb explained the risks of abdominal surgery, which included bleeding, infection, and injury to internal organs including the bowel and bile duct. Dr. Shabeeb first attempted to remove Spar's gallbladder laparoscopically, i.e., by creating an incision below Spar's navel, insufflating the abdomen using carbon dioxide gas, and viewing the internal organs by inserting a small camera. Spar's internal scarring from the prior surgeries prevented completion of the procedure laparoscopically, and a larger incision was made to permit viewing of the organs directly.