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At least 50,000 patients who were treated at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada or the Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center may have been exposed to hepatitis, HIV or other blood-borne illnesses as a result of the unsafe medical practices that went on for years at these clinics.
Health investigators found that staff members were told by doctors at the clinics to reuse single-use medicine vials and syringes used to inject anesthesia, as well as bite blocks which are placed in the mouth during a colonoscopy, biopsy forceps and other equipment. According to the attorneys representing them, at least 850 patients treated at the clinics have already tested positive for hepatitis C due to the frequent reuse of medical equipment.
Staff members were told by doctors at the clinics to reuse single-use medicine vials and syringes used to inject anesthesia.
Investigators also found that doctors were commonly performing colonoscopies that usually take 15 to 30 minutes in as little as two minutes. In several cases, medical records show that a single doctor performed a colonoscopy on more than one patient at the same time.
Because a colonoscopy is designed to look for polyps that could be an early indicator of colon cancer, rushing through the procedure so quickly could cause doctors to miss a crucial diagnosis that could end up saving a patient’s life.
In April 2008, one of the clinic’s former patients reached a settlement in his medical malpractice lawsuit against facility. The patients had alleged that despite his family history of colon cancer and the fact that he was showing warning signs of the disease, doctors at the Endoscopy Center rushed through his colonoscopy in 8 minutes.
By the time doctors discovered the cancer growing in his colon 11 months later, the disease had become incurable. According to the patient’s attorney, Dr. Dipak Desai and the other doctors at the Endoscopy Center were “obsessed with profit,” causing them to rush through procedures in as little time as possible. As a result, they failed to see the evidence which could have allowed them to diagnose his client’s colon cancer in time to save his life.
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