Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgery is an area of medicine that deals with the treatment of conditions that affect our senses - more specifically, conditions affecting the ears, nose, and throat.

ENT surgeons (also referred to as otorhinolaryngologists) are specialists responsible for the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of diseases – not only of the ears, nose, and throat, but also of the head and neck.

There is a huge number of conditions that can impact the ears, nose and/or throat, and so all ENT surgeons must be highly trained to be able to properly treat a wide array of diseases that can affect people of all ages.

Despite being highly trained, accidents can still happen during ENT surgery.

If you feel you have been affected by negligent ENT surgery, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Medical negligence claims can be complicated, so it is vital to have the support of specialist solicitors from the outset.

SDS Solicitors have successfully represented clients in all kinds of medical negligence compensation cases over the last 20 years. With this experience so you can be confident that you’ll have the strongest possible chance of a fair outcome.

What is ENT surgery negligence?

Before, during, or after a surgery has taken place, doctors can make mistakes while managing our treatment.

When doctors fail to correctly diagnose a patient, to refer a patient for further tests, to follow up on tests, to properly examine a patient or to refer them for specialist treatment, then they put their patients at (avoidable) risk and could be found guilty of medical negligence.

If you, or someone that you know, has suffered through harm that would have been avoidable were it not for mistakes made by your healthcare professionals, then you could have a claim.

While no amount of compensation would ever be able to properly make up for the pain, loss of income, and mental anguish caused by such an event, it can still help to relieve a small part of the burden from your shoulders.

If you believe that you have claim for ENT surgery negligence, then your next step should be seeking advice from an expert solicitor with a wealth of experience managing similar cases.

How can we help?

At SDS Solicitors, we have been championing our clients from across England and Wales since 1997.

We are a Manchester-based medical negligence, accident and personal injury law firm dedicated to helping victims of ENT negligence seek the compensation they deserve.

From finding out whether you could have a claim, to how much you could be entitled to, and helping you along the journey, we demystify the process of making. At SDS Solicitors, we’re with you every step of the way.

To learn if you could have a claim, fill in our contact form or call the number at the top of this page.

A member of our expert team will get back to you regarding your next steps as soon as possible.

How can ENT surgery go wrong?

Most of an ENT surgeon’s time is spent in outpatient clinics, managing conditions that impact a patient’s smell, voice, hearing, balance, or taste. They are also responsible for treating conditions that affect a patient’s breathing or swallowing.

Common conditions occurring in these regions that ENTs will treat include tonsilitis and nasal polyps.

ENTs even treat patients suffering with tumours of the head, neck and base of the skull.

So, when ENT surgery goes wrong, it can severely impact our senses, as well as causing many other difficult conditions.

Some of the complications that can arise during ENT surgery and treatment include:

Misdiagnosis or mistreatment for hyperthyroidism
Failure to diagnose tumours of the head, throat or neck
Nerve damage in the face
Damage to the facial or optic nerves during surgery, potentially causing loss of vision, facial paralysis or weakness
Damage to the nasal receptors during surgery causing loss of smell
Misdiagnosis or delay in treatment of ear conditions, resulting in potential loss of hearing
Mismanagement of a cholesteatoma (a skin-lined cyst in the ear) resulting in possible loss of hearing

These are just a few of the many problems caused by improper medical care.

Among the most common is ENT negligence after surgery involving the nose and sinuses.

Many ENT negligence claims arise when a patient receives improper care during a functional endoscopic sinus surgery, which is used to treat both sinusitis and nasal polyps, as well as several other common ENT disorders.

I was injured during functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). What are my options?

One of the most common conditions that an ENT doctor manages is sinusitis. A common condition caused by blocked, infected or inflamed sinuses, symptoms will typically clear up after 2-3 weeks.

In some cases, sinusitis can take longer to get better. As the condition comes with some unpleasant side effects, such as pain or swelling, a doctor may decide to prescribe medication to help patients manage the condition. There are cases, however, where medication does not help the condition, and surgery becomes necessary.

Sinusitis can also be difficult to diagnose, as many of is symptoms (i.e., runny nose or fever) are common among lots of conditions.

If sinusitis is misdiagnosed, then it will be left untreated for longer.

In very rare cases, sinusitis that is left untreated can lead to further complications and the infection may spread to the eye socket or the fluid surrounding the brain.

For these rare cases, surgery will also be necessary.

FESS is carried out to widen the sinuses and treat chronic sinusitis. This is done by either removing some of the blocked tissue or inflating a small balloon inside the blocked sinuses before removing it.

However, ENT surgeons can make mistakes during surgery.

There are two main mistakes that can impact a patient’s life: damage to orbital bone or damage to the bone near the base of the brain. While both are rare, they can be very serious.

Damage to the eye socket during FESS surgery

The sinuses are close to the wall of the eye socket (orbital bones surrounding the eye).

When the orbital bones are damaged during ENT surgery, minor bleeding can occur. While this will typically go away on its own, and will show as light bruising around the eye, more bleeding can sometimes occur, causing severe swelling.

Damage to the orbital bones can result in long-term effects, such as double vision or even loss of sight.

When such a serious complication arises, patients should be referred to a specialist immediately.

Avoidable damage caused during surgery could be considered medically negligent. While damage to the eye socket is the more common risk of FESS surgery, damage to bones at the base of the brain can also occur.

Damage to bones at the base of the brain

Because the sinuses are located near the bone at the base of the brain, FESS surgery, and all sinus operations, carry with them the risk of damaging this small bone, resulting in fluid from around the brain leaking into the nose.

This leak means that patients the patient’s hospital stay will be extended, and another operation will be required to stop this leak. Very rarely, the infection can spread from the sinuses and into the spinal fluid, causing meningitis. Doctors have a responsibility to monitor their patients properly after an operation.

After a FESS is performed, the ENT doctor should look out for symptoms of spinal fluid liquid so that they can act quickly. Failure to notice signs of spinal fluid leakage could be considered negligent.

FESS surgery is one of the most common types of ENT negligence claims. Not least of all because it can be used to treat other conditions beside sinusitis, such as nasal polyps.

There were complications during my treatment for nasal polyps. Do I have claim?

Nasal polyps are soft growths inside of the nose. While they are painless and not typically considered to be serious, they can cause some unwanted side effects by blocking the nose – not least of which is damaging our ability to smell.

Occasionally, nasal polyps can block the sinuses, also causing symptoms of sinusitis to develop in the patient.

Typically, doctors will prescribe patients with steroid nose drops or spray to help manage nasal polyps.

If symptoms don’t show any signs of improving after around 10 weeks, then the doctor might suggest surgery to remove the polyps, such as FESS surgery.

FESS surgery is carried out under anaesthetic. If you have undergone FESS surgery and the wrong amount of anaesthetic was administered, or if other avoidable harm was caused during surgery, then this could be a case of negligence.

To find out whether you could have a claim, get in touch with us.

Do I have an ENT surgery negligence claim?

While ENT surgeries cover the widest possible range of surgeries, most of these are straightforward procedures.

But medical negligence can occur during even the simplest of procedure, causing huge ramifications that may reduce a patient’s quality of life for a long time.

Even if the examples of medical negligence listed above do not apply to your situation – if avoidable harm was caused by a medical professional, affecting you or a close loved one, then you could have a claim.

If you would like to learn more about our services, if you have a claim, or what you could be entitled to – then get the peace of mind you deserve by contacting us today.

Contact us

We are a leading specialist medical negligence law firm acting for claimants nationwide.

Our expert medical negligence solicitors regularly act for clients across Greater Manchester including Ashton, Bury, Bolton, Radcliffe, Prestwich, Middleton, Failsworth, Rochdale, Oldham and Whitefield.

Our team of recognised Surgery Negligence Claims Solicitors can support your needs wherever you live in Wales, England & Northern Ireland.

Call us for free now using the number at the top of the page or complete the online contact form and a member of our team will get back to you.