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CRITICAL CARE AND TRAUMA

Postoperative Death and Malpractice Suits: Is Autopsy Useful?

Philippe Juvin, MD^*, Frédéric Teissière, MD, Fabrice Brion, MD, Jean-Marie Desmonts, MD^*, and Michel Durigon, MD

*Service d’Anesthésie et de Réanimation, Hôpital Bichat, Paris; and Service de Médecine Légale, Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, Garches, France

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Philippe Juvin, Service d’Anesthésie et de Réanimation, Hôpital Bichat, 46 Rue Henri Huchard, 75018 Paris, France. Address e-mail to pjuvin @free.fr.

Implications: This report demonstrates the extremely high yield of autopsies performed in the case of postoperative death with suspicion of malpractice. They frequently identified undetected complications. They could also suggest faulty or negligent practice that would otherwise go unrecognized. This report supports the widespread use of autopsies to investigate perioperative death.

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