I have ccd Sue on this since she was the anesthesiologist. Those changes came only after MGH officials took a remarkable step. Rubash, in an interview, said concurrent surgery did not become more common during his tenure. So far, the controversy has spawned state and federal inquiries and led to the summary dismissal in August of a star surgeon, Dr. Dennis Burke, who fought a multi-year battle against double-booking. As chief, he was instrumental in the creation of the Orthopedic Research Laboratories. - A primary care provider (or PCP) is a doctor or in some cases, a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, who sees patients for everyday medical issues, such as colds and annual wellness visits. Im just a concerned doc worried about poor patient care and potential damage to the hospitals reputation.. Both men, wearing scrubs, sat at a formica-covered table in the middle of the room, according to Burkes recollection of the encounter. Your actions have been extraordinarily disruptive to the orthopaedic surgery department, Slavin wrote Burke. After getting a call at his Beacon Hill home, WoodKirkham Wood, M.D.Spine surgeon, chief of spine 2004-2013 said in his deposition that he returned to the hospital to review the images and a few hours later operated again on Meng with two neurosurgeons assisting. Our spine team sees patients at these locations: Mass General - Boston55 Fruit StreetYawkey Center for Outpatient Care, Suite 3ABoston, MA 02114, Orthopaedics at Mass General Waltham52 Second AvenueBuilding 52, 1st Floor, Suite 1150Waltham, MA 02451, Newton-Wellesley Spine Center159 Wells AvenueNewton, MA 02459, Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care102-104 Endicott StreetDanvers, MA 01923, BW / Mass General Health Care Center20 Patriot PlaceFoxborough, MA 01923. She said she finally found the doctor in room 25 doing the ankle procedure and asked him to come assist Shervin. 50th President of the CSRS, Dr. Babaria Joins DISC Sports & Spine Center, Michael Kelly, M.D. Then in April 2011, Skates helped arrange a meeting with Burke and Torchiana and the three of them gathered in Torchianas office on the second floor of the Bulfinch Building at 6:30 a.m. Torchiana was not about to simply bow to Burkes demands. General in May 2011 after a distinguished career as a pancreatic cancer surgeon and surgeon-in-chief at Indiana University Hospital. collected, please refer to our Privacy Policy. 5 Hospital officials described Warner in a statement as one of the foremost shoulder surgeons in the United States and said he did not violate hospital policy regarding this case. The hospital noted that Warner works with a team to perform lengthy shoulder operations. We offer the full spectrum of orthopaedic care and are the best and most comprehensive orthopaedic surgery department in New England. We are committed to providing expert caresafely and effectively. Its not fun to deal with this on a daily basis, Sunder said in an interview. He had become the sounding board and champion for those at MGH who shared his concerns about concurrent surgeries. Michael Kelly, M.D. The General Hospital Corporation. Meet our team Conditions & Treatments 617-724-8636 Contact Information Phone: 617-724-8636 Request an appointment Previously, Dr. Harris served as the chief of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). He can rattle off relatives who have been treated at MGH and says he wouldnt dream of going anywhere else. OR 21 and OR 30. His name is Andrew Freiberg, M.D. We want to get you back to doing the things you love. Indeed, he said in an interview that he asked Wood before the surgery whether he would be the one to perform the procedure, and the doctor said he would. Double booking is fine, if done properly, and our policy will change the practice at the MGH. Brandon E. Earp, MD is Vice Chair of Clinical Operations for the Brigham and Women's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital. The General Hospital Corporation. The end of his cases occasionally overlapped with the start of other cases, but it averaged just a few minutes. Mass. Stoking their anxiety, they alleged, were cases of patient complications, including two that ended with the deaths of elderly patients; cases where surgeons were out of the operating room attending to another patient when an urgent need arose; cases where surgeons didnt show up to operations, leaving the work to a resident or fellow; cases of patients lying under anesthesia for prolonged periods waiting for a doctor to arrive or return; cases where operating room staff were confused about who would do the operation. When the Globe informed MGH officials that Burke had rebutted their charge by providing the records, the hospital began an investigation into whether Burke had violated federal law requiring that patient information be kept confidential. Slavin would not share it with the Globe or government regulators. BurkeDennis William Burke, M.D.Orthopedic surgeon, however, believes the incentive system did motivate some surgeons to double-book. This is an example of one of his concurrent surgeries, according to finalized operating room schedules. With more than 25 years of experience in academic orthopaedic surgery, Mitchel B. Harris, MD, has been named chief of the Department of Orthopaedics at Massachusetts General Hospital, effective October 1, 2017. He is an internationally-recognized expert on the treatment of foot and ankle fractures and other traumatic injuries to the lower extremity. Youre in the prime of your practice life. But the fact is that if I were to wait until the age of 70, I might not be as flexible or dynamic.. If you have any questions, contact Megan Leelman at Meet Dr. Joseph Schwab. Each and every one of these allegations of a potential incident was investigated, a hospital spokeswoman said in a statement to the Globe, adding that federal privacy law and hospital personnel policies prevent the hospital from saying what investigators found or what action, if any, was taken. The prognostic value of preoperative participation in activities of daily living on postoperative outcomes following lumbar discectomy. joined Greenwich, Connecticut-based Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Specialists. Orthopedic surgeons in Suffolk County typically make nearly $500,000 a year, according to Doximity, an online service for physicians. As the internal controversy stirred by Burke and others escalated, Dr. Peter Dunn, medical director of the hospitals OR, began looking for ways to improve the departments performance, including a review of the hospitals guidelines for concurrent surgeries. Extensive e-mail correspondence, obtained from Mass. Now director of Orthopedic Trauma Services at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md. Anesthesia, Critical Care & Pain Medicine, Billing, Insurance & Financial Assistance, Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care, Director, Spine Oncology & Co-Director, Stephan L. Harris Chordoma Center, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Executive Vice Chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Program Director, Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Assistant Chief, Orthopaedic Spine Service, Director, MGH/BWH Orthopaedic Spine Surgery Fellowship Program, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Instructor in Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Director, Adult Spinal Deformity & Spinal Reconstruction, MGH Orthopaedic Spine Surgery Fellowship Site Director, Adult Spinal Reconstruction Orthopaedic Surgeon, Pediatric Spine & Scoliosis Surgeon, Mass General for Children, Director of Spine Training for the Harvard/Spaulding Sports Medicine Fellowship Program, Instructor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Nurse Practitioner with Dr. Christopher Bono, Dr. Stuart Hershman & Dr. Joseph Schwab, Physician Assistant with Dr. Frank Pedlow, Inpatient Physician Assistant - Shoulder; Spine, Inpatient Nurse Practitioner - Shoulder; Spine. Dr. Richard Pino, MGHs clinical vice chairman of anesthesia, e-mailed his boss, Dr. Jeanine Wiener-Kronish, in August 2011, that Dr. WarnerJon J.P. Warner, M.D.Chief of MGHs shoulder service routinely does not account for sometimes two hours of a patient anesthetized waiting for him when he is operating in two rooms., MGH, in a statement, dismissed the complaint as generic office carping. Pino said the e-mail does not represent my views on the subject but rather those of the staff who sent it to me.. Dr. Allan Kirk, the head of surgery at Duke University School of Medicine, coauthored an article this year on concurrent surgery in the Annals of Surgery, a journal edited by MGHs chief of surgery, Dr. Keith Lillemoe. General officials said that Bhattacharyya provided superb care to this patient, and that his other cases had no impact on his treatment of the French patient. When I have access to the dynamic schedule upon arrival to MVH, I will check the times for accuracy. PDF Harvard Orthopedic Trauma Fellowship Massachusetts General Hospital Orthopedics Spine Surgeon or Neurosurgeon, Is There a Difference? This impressive achievement is a testament to the commitment of our clinical team to providing safe, high-quality care while ensuring an exceptional patient experience. We don't rush your visits. Mass General is the #1 hospital in New England based on U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals for 2022-2023. General Physicians Organization, Former US Attorney hired by Partners to investigate double-booking, Chairman of the chiefs council, a founder of Partners HealthCare, visit our home for Globe coverage of the issue. To me that is what we were hoping to accomplish. It examined Mass. Wood, chief of MGHs orthopedic spine service at the time and a nationally renowned practitioner in his specialty, is a confident, veteran surgeon. Explore fellowships, residencies, internships and other educational opportunities. Then, he would turn Meng over onto his abdomen and operate some more. Learn how your comment data is processed. triathlete and orthopaedic surgery patient, If you have any questions, contact Megan Leelman at, Anesthesia, Critical Care & Pain Medicine, Billing, Insurance & Financial Assistance, Mass General Sports Medicine Physicians Head to Red Sox Spring Training, Family Nurse Practitioner Colleen McGauley, FNP-BC, Delivers Orthopedics Presentation at Statewide Conference, Orhun Muratoglu, PhD, Inducted into the National Academy of Inventors' Fellows Program, Sports Medicine Physician Kelly McInnis, DO, Receives 2023 Moyer Award, 31st Annual Smith Day & 8th Annual Jupiter International Forum. General to many teaching hospitals where surgeons in training are integral contributors to the surgical team. He also has received numerous faculty teaching awards in his previous academic positions. Brigham and Women's Hospital . to analyze our web traffic. After a resident positioned her for the surgery, the attending surgeon, Dr. Timothy Bhattacharyya, made an incision to expose the hip, according to medical and court records reviewed by the Globe. Vassallo and Shervin did not respond to repeated requests for comment. BostonMA, 02114. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Warner had a second procedure running simultaneously and was scrubbed into room 20. After Skates left, Torchiana pulled Burke aside and said it was wrong to involve a trustee in this matter. Brandon E. Earp, MD - Brigham and Women's Hospital Dear Dr Freiburg, I would like to know your thoughts on Titanium and/or metal allergy in total joint prothesis rejection/inflammation. Founder and Chair, Foot & Ankle Research and Innovation Lab, Vice-chair Academic Affairs, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Director, Foot & Ankle Research and Innovation Lab, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Clinical Executive Director of MGB Orthopaedic Registry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chief, Foot & Ankle Service, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Foot & Ankle Fellowship Program Director, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Foot & Ankle Surgeon, Minimally Invasive Surgery Lead, Member of the Faculty, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Foot & Ankle Sports Medicine Director, Instructor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical Schoo, Podiatry Surgeon, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Founder & Director of SORG and CPAI, Director of MGB Registries, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Chief, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Executive Vice Chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Program Director, Harvard Orthopaedic Residency Program (HCORP), Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Director, Womens Sports Medicine Program, Sports Medicine Orthopaedic Surgeon, Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, Hand & Upper Extremity Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Hand & Arm Center, Department of Orthopaedics, Massachusetts General HospitalProgram Director, Hand Surgery Fellowship ProgramAssociate Professor, Harvard Medical School, Biomedical Engineering graduate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, specializing in Biomechanics and Medical Robotics, Senior Clinical Research Program Manager at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, , Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. See video animations for common spine conditions and treatments. Malcom Smith, M.D.Chief of MGH orthopedic trauma, in a written statement, said it would be unethical and illegal under federal privacy laws to respond to anything about the case specifically. They are the eyes and ears for patients in their most vulnerable state, carefully watching vital signs for any disturbance. Our multi-disciplinary spine team uses non-operative therapies and advanced surgical techniques to treat all spine conditions and disorders. Burke and Austen had known each other since the early 1970s. Such indirect supervision, where the attending is not present, is allowed under certain circumstances at teaching hospitals. MGH officials say that hiring Stern who likely commanded $600 to $900 an hour at the time, according to lawyers who practice similar work shows they took Burke seriously, and the report gave them confidence they were on the right track. First, Dennis Burke a leading hip and knee replacement specialist who hastily flew to Switzerland to aid Secretary of State John F. Kerry when he broke his femur in May went to war with hospital administrators and some of his peers over his assertion that running concurrent surgeries is ethically unthinkable and dangerous. Vicky wanted to get back to her active life. Hospital officials have declined to share the document, even with state regulators, citing attorney-client privilege and promises of confidentiality to staffers interviewed. Though often called simultaneous surgeries, they do not, of course, involve the attending surgeon working directly on two patients at once. He said he got emotional, especially when he recalled for Stern a time when his wife was a patient at Mass. George J. Annas, a prominent patients rights advocate at Boston University, said its a no-brainer that a surgeon should inform a patient that the doctor intends to operate on that person and another patient in the same time frame. Warner, chief of MGHs shoulder service, earned just over $2.1 million between October 2005 and September 2006, making him the hospitals highest compensated employee at the time, according to financial documents filed by the hospital with the attorney general. A hole in the front side of the protective membrane allowed Mengs spine to bend and protrude, potentially causing his paralysis. In addition to providing the consent form, MGH says its surgeons are expected to verbally discuss with the patient the plan for the surgery and potential risks, though there is no requirement that patients be told their surgeon is overseeing two cases at once. It was Dr. Nina Shervin, a fifth-year resident for whom Burke was a trusted mentor, calling in tears about an elderly woman in great pain; her newly replaced hip had dislocated twice. Hi, I am looking at Mondays schedule and I see Dr. Wood booked in two rooms. He had taken comfort, he said, knowing that her surgeon wasnt occupied with anyones care but hers. General officials also said the account from Burke, Shervin, and Vassallo is wrong and gravely so, but the hospital said it could not offer a detailed response because we would be violating federal law and our own patient privacy protections which we consider a fundamental patient right.. We do not allow an attending to be in two rooms at a time. And Burke said he never started a surgical procedure on one of his patients - that is, made an incision - until he was finished with the other patients procedure. Learn more about our surgical optimization program, which will help you plan and prepare for your upcoming procedure. MGH declined to say how much orthopedic surgeons there earn on average. Orthopaedic Journal at Harvard Medical School - annual publication It is unfortunate, the hospital said in a written statement, that a well-respected surgeon would cause a massive violation of patient confidentiality policies by copying hundreds of patient records and sharing them with the Boston Globe.. He then completed a General Surgery Internship and the Orthopedic Training Program at the University of Michigan Hospitals. 617-724-8636 Request an appointment. General leadership, they were dispelled on a bitterly cold morning in February this year in a hospital hallway. Anesthesia, Critical Care & Pain Medicine, Billing, Insurance & Financial Assistance, Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care. Drs. He arrived stressing the need to reduce surgical complications generally and walked into the debate over the safety of double-booking. While Wood was checking on the fellows work in OR 64, the crisis continued with Meng. Burke sent a blistering e-mail to top hospital leaders, reviewing his long-running efforts to rein in the practice. He removed a damaged disc from the womans lower back and plugged it with bone; it would be the last surgery he did on her that day, though he checked on her twice and gave instructions to her medical team. We use cookies and other tools to enhance your experience on our website and Was that really too much to expect?, Lillemoe bristled that Burke had alerted state agencies and disagreed that internal efforts had been ineffective. Get the latest news, explore events and connect with Mass General. Some doctors, Wood among them, consider disclosure of double-booking a case-by-case call. Produced by Russell Goldenberg, Gabriel Florit, Elaina Natario, Scott LaPierre, Emily Z. Fortier, David Butler. Search for condition information or for a specific treatment program. Are we allowing 2 rooms for major spine surgery? By the time Bhattacharyya returned to implant the hip, they say, he had completed work on the critical parts of the ankle case, and the earlier operation in room 22 was also over. Learn about career opportunities, search for positions and apply for a job. For several hours after anesthesiologists put Meng to sleep around 8 a.m., Wood tended to him and to the woman down the hall. Dr. Mark Vrahas, chief of Partners orthopedic trauma service, met with a patient in a holding room just before a surgery one morning about five years ago. Much of the internal debate over double-booking at Mass. Let us help you navigate your in-person or virtual visit to Mass General. He told the Globe that the second part of the operation, which lasted five hours and involved removing hardware from her spine, was not difficult. He then returned to the University of Michigan, where he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and was later named Chief of Adult Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan Hospitals and Chief of Orthopedics at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center. Bhattacharyya was part of Mass. Dr. Jay J. Patel brings his expertise to Hoag Orthopedic Institute as new Chief Strategy Officer. to analyze our web traffic. The family called for an ambulance and headed to the emergency room at Mass. In June 2012, Lillemoe unveiled the much anticipated guidelinesThe final policy formally adopted in October 2012 had some changes from a draft shared in spring 2012. collected, please refer to our Privacy Policy. In September 2022, Mass Generals Orthopaedic Trauma Service was chosen to host the inaugural class of the Orthopaedic Trauma Associations Roy Sanders Traveling Fellows. Other luminaries in orthopaedic surgery have headed the Department over the years, including Drs. Is it right, some MGH medical staff asked, for surgeons to divide their attention between two operating rooms especially when the patients dont know? Burke sided with Shervin, testifying against the hospital. Wood, chief of MGH's orthopedic spine service at the time and a nationally renowned practitioner in his specialty, is a confident, veteran surgeon. He called Mengs sudden plight, a devastating sort of picture., In 2013, Wood stepped down from his post as chief of spine surgery because he never felt completely comfortable in his abilities to communicate with and lead the division, RubashHarry E. Rubash, M.D.Chief of orthopedic surgery said in a written statement to the Globe. When Dr. Neelakantan Sunder, team leader for orthopedic anesthesia, raised questions about Wood booking two rooms for major spine surgery in 2010 two years before the Meng case Dr. Peter Dunn, medical director of the hospitals OR, reassured him in an e-mail obtained by the Globe that Wood has the fellow manpower to do this., Sunder, who could be prickly about what he considered matters of patient safety, replied: Do you really think it reasonable to do these two cases by the same primary surgeon? Zimmer Gets a Chief Medical Officer - For the First Time SmithR. Rather, such cases are handled in successive stages, with the surgeon devoting himself to a section of one patients case, then moving on to the other. Raj Gala, M.D. MGH has no such mandate listed in its policy, but hospital officials say they have taken some steps that the Brigham has not, like specifically barring some procedures from being double-booked at all. Down the hall in room 64 was Woods other patient, an elderly woman awaiting her own complex surgery, a spinal fusion that would also require precise work spanning much of the day. Seeking to complete the procedure and possibly relieve the nerve symptoms, Wood then operated for several more hours on the back of Mengs neck. The two cases overlapped for about seven hours, but Wood wrote in his operative note in Mengs surgery that he was present for the entire case. Meng woke up paralyzed. Jenks had publicly accused his surgical team of botching the surgery, failing to smooth a sharp place on his spine that sliced me open after the surgery and, he believes, ended his career. Based on the findings, an initial diagnosis will be made. Today, Mass. After Warner rushed through the door several minutes later, a vascular surgeon was called to repair the tear and ultimately the operation was aborted. mleelman@partners.org. But the Globe, through dozens of interviews and a review of hospital records, court filings, and hundreds of e-mails shared by current and former medical staffers, pieced together a portrait of this remarkable and revealing episode, one which changed surgical practice and procedure at the hospital and resulted in double-booking being raised as an issue in malpractice lawsuits. Second, I will be involved in quality and safety evaluations and health hazard evaluation of medical devices, something I have done for many years outside of industry. Yet the hospital did impose new limits on double-booking surgery after Burke spoke out, reining in what MGHs chief of surgery described in an e-mail echoing a phrase of Burkes, he says as the wild wild west era of concurrent surgery. General orthopedics when he took over as department head in 1998. Pereira struck the ground and felt a sharp pain on her left side. Orthopaedic Surgery - Brigham and Women's Hospital The program's greatest strength is its residents. But, even as hospital officials developed the revised policy, new disputes erupted, including Burkes discovery that Wood was the attending surgeon for a second concurrent operation while he was doing back surgery on Red Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks in December 2011. While he was a medical student at Loyola University outside Chicago, orthopedic surgery appealed to him because it combined medicine and mechanics. We have the best compensation plan around, said shoulder surgeon Dr. Jon J.P. Warner in a department-approved Harvard Business School case study last revised in 2005. He routinely does not account for sometimes two hours of a patient anesthetized waiting for him when he is operating in two rooms and the frequent need for PM incentives to cover his rooms because of surgical delays covering two ORs. He told the doctors that the revised policy would ensure the highest quality of care and patient safety. Our hospital is being crucified for something that happens at hospitals across the globe, Wood said. Burke wasnt alone in his doubts about double-booking. Leonard DA, Schoenfeld AJ, Harris MB, Bono CM. For more information about these cookies and the data Did you approve this? Orthopaedic Journal at Harvard Medical School - annual publication