Summary
Mrs C suffered hearing loss following minor oral surgery at Perth Royal Infirmary. She complained that the board failed to provide appropriate treatment and failed to adequately explain the risks of the procedure she received.
The board said Mrs C received appropriate treatment. They said the procedure was performed correctly and they considered hearing loss was not a recognised complication, and was unpredictable. They said Mrs C was seen by various specialists, who investigated the complication. The board also considered the risks of the procedure were adequately explained, as the risks Mrs C complained about were unknown and diminishingly rare.
After receiving independent advice from an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, we did not uphold Mrs C's complaint. We found the care provided was appropriate, taking into account the complication could not reasonably have been predicted by the clinicians. We found the board acted appropriately in investigating the complication. We also considered the board did not fail to adequately explain the risks of the procedure, as the risks in question were exceedingly small. We did not uphold Mrs C's complaint.
Related reading
View Decision Report 201507949 as a PDF (11.07 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018