Cancer Patient Died From Intestinal Tear Caused By Surgical Robot: Lawsuit

LOADING ERROR LOADING A Florida woman’s death is being blamed on injuries caused when a hospital’s surgical robot burned a hole in her small intestines during cancer surgery, according to lawsuit filed by her husband on Tuesday. Sandra Sultzer, who had colon cancer, was admitted in 2021 to Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Boca Raton, Florida, for surgery a doctor performed with the use of a da Vinci robotic system, according to a lawsuit obtained by HuffPost. THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images According to the lawsuit, Sultzer suffered a burn that caused a tear in her small intestines during surgery and needed additional surgeries to close it. The lawsuit alleged that Intuitive Surgical was aware of the da Vinci system’s insulation issues, which can cause electricity leakage into patients body, but failed to inform the hospital and staff. Intuitive Surgical had received thousands of reports citing “dangerous injuries,” including internal organ burns, that were allegedly caused by the robot’s electrical discharge, the lawsuit says.