Firm News & Events arrow Infant Develops Blood Clotting Disorder Following Circumcision

Image for Infant Develops Blood Clotting Disorder Following Circumcision

FREE Case Consultation

Fill out the form below and we will contact you.

Or, give us a call at

410-324-2000
Paul M. D'Amore
Paul M. D'Amore

Founding Member, Trial Lawyer

Infant Develops Blood Clotting Disorder Following Circumcision

This case involves a male infant with no family history of hemophilia whose parents elected to have him circumcised.

Following the circumcision, the infant continued to bleed from his circumcision and heel stick sites. The infant’s parents brought this to the attention of the hospital staff, but they were reassured this was normal. 

How to find the best personal injury lawyer.

 

The infant was discharged with no additional care instructions. In the hours following the infant’s discharge, the circumcision site and heel stick continued to bleed. The infant was then taken back to the emergency room. A blood clot test was conducted on the infant. Although the results came back abnormal, the physicians did not attempt to stitch up the circumcision site nor did they provide the child with any fluids or blood products. A pediatric hematologist decided to order factor studies which revealed that the child had a severe Factor VIII deficiency. The child’s bleeding began to improve, and he was discharged. The next day, the child was limp and would not eat. The infant was rushed back to the emergency room and found to be in critical condition. On exam, his skin was pale blue and he was in respiratory distress. A stitch was placed on the child’s circumcision site, and the infant was given blood transfusions. As a result of these complications, the infant developed impaired kidney function and high-tier Factor VIII inhibitor.

Questions For Expert Witness:

  • • Are you more likely to develop inhibitors the more inflammatory you are?
  • • Could this bleeding have been the cause of the development of an inhibitor?
  • • Is it possible that if the bleeding had not occurred the inhibitor could have been avoided?

Expert Witness Response:


Expert Witness-1Inhibitors are one of the worst outcomes for any hemophilia patient, as these patients have the greatest morbidities of this disease. The difficulty in hemophilia is that it is rare. Despite a very dedicated and motivated network of clinical and research centers, there is little prospective data, and the limited data out there is actively disputed. There are many risk factors related to inhibitor development and they are well known and summarized in every review article on this topic. In this case, intensive treatment, and treatment during a time of inflammation will be contributory. However, the patient was treated before SIPPET results were known so he likely received recombinant FVIII. Even that study, which is a global randomized multicenter study, is not conclusive to many people, but confirmed genetic risk factors (which were known and this patient may have) as an important risk factor. More importantly, it implied that recombinant FVIII was associated with a higher rate of inhibitors. I would say that >95% of new severe hemophilia patients in the USA got recombinant FVIII in 2013-14. In SIPPET, the recombinant group had an incidence of >40%. In general, we think that 30% of all severe hemophilia A patients will develop inhibitors and that 70% of those can be tolerized. In this case, I think that the delay to Dx is a true problem.  I suppose that with more details, the care delivered could be questioned. But whether or not this boy would or would not have developed an inhibitor regardless of this history will always be debatable, even in the presence of risk factors.

Our Experienced Attorneys Can Help

D'Amore Personal Injury Law, LLC. is an award-winning law firm with decades of experience in fighting for their clients' rights. If your child suffered complications after birth, contact us immediately.

This article is reprinted by permission from the original, which was produced by the Expert Institute. D'Amore Personal Injury Law works with the Expert Institute to identify and retain professionals with world class knowledge, experience, and credentials to testify on behalf of their personal injury clients. If you would like to learn more about the life changing results D'Amore Personal Injury Law has obtained for their catastrophically injured clients, please see our client results page.

More Health Posts

What is a Shearing Injury

Everyone has heard of traumatic brain injury. This is a catch-all term for various types of injuries to the head and brain. Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is caused by everything from car accidents to slip and fall accidents, to combat trauma. We know that TBI is a serious injury and can have lasting effects. But what is the cause of these effects?

Motorcycle Risk & TBI

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, you may have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These injuries can be life-altering. Some victims of a TBI are unable to perform simple activities of daily living. Depending on the severity of the TBI, an injured person may require full-time medical care and assistance. Read on to learn more about brain injuries from motorcycle accidents and how an experienced motorcycle injury attorney can help.

Common Hospital Negligence

Hospital negligence is a major factor in causing medical malpractice. Every year, too many Americans are negatively impacted by negligence in a hospital. If you or a loved one have been affected by hospital negligence and you’re left wondering if you can hold the hospital accountable, this article can help you learn what hospital negligence is and what you can do about it.

Contact Us

If you or a loved one has been injured by someone else's negligence, contact us immediately.

Baltimore skyline

Baltimore Office

200 E Pratt Street, Suite 4100
Baltimore, MD 21202

Local: 410-324-2000

Fax: 443-782-0700

Annapolis skyline

Annapolis Office

888 Bestgate Road, Suite 205
Annapolis, MD 21401

Local: 410-324-2000

Fax: 443-782-0700

Washington skyline

Washington, D.C. Office

1200 G Street NW, 8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005

Local: 202-780-9000

Fax: 443-782-0700