Latest stories
Leaving hospital saved her life
Kathy Shafer knew she was bleeding internally after an operation at Sunrise Hospital Medical Center, but she says no one would listen to her.
Missouri family loses its rock
David Butts died within hours of being administered a painkiller while trying to pass a kidney stone at Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center.
Flesh wound was so much more
The only way people believe his story, Harold Abramowski says, is when they see his scar.
After surgery, an injury uncured
Everything went fine with Sern Englestead’s heart surgery. Not so, though, in postoperative recovery.
State to host summit on halting spread of MRSA superbug
Confronted with a deadly MRSA epidemic, Nevada health care regulators will gather officials from across the state to draw attention to the problem and identify solutions. Reversing the lethal superbug’s spread will be the focus of the summit next month.
Patients at risk under the knife
Dr. Victor Grigoriev had good news for Georganne Mumm’s worried family when he emerged from the operating room. The surgery was a success, Mumm says he told her family. He had removed her cancerous kidney and her outlook was good.
Colorado transparency unique
Michael Skolnik was having seizures. His doctor was pressing for brain surgery.
A cry for help
Among Carol Ann Doyle’s last words was an anguished cry that “something was backwards” inside her. Dr. Gregg Ripplinger had warned Doyle that she would be in some pain after laparoscopic surgery to remove her gall bladder.
How the Sun identified surgical injuries
Every surgery results in an operative report, in which the surgeon notes each step of the procedure, including any inadvertent nicks, cuts or complications.
Nevada hospitals rarely sanction physicians
Nevada may have more surgical mishaps than should be expected, based on national benchmarks, but it’s almost unheard of for hospitals to sanction a physician. Doctors’ privileges were revoked or suspended 73 times in Nevada from January 2007 to July 1.
Routine surgery, harrowing result
Amanda Cicatello appears in some ways to be a typical teenager. Her bedroom is whimsically decorated with a zebra-striped bedspread and a stuffed panda. She works at a trendy clothing store and loves to hang out with friends.
Last drumroll
Mickey O’Neill, a 61-year-old drummer in a local Irish band, had outpatient laparoscopic surgery to remove his gall bladder June 2.
Panel discusses how best to stem the spread of infection
A Sun investigation found that lethal “superbugs” are infecting thousands of patients in local hospitals. The analysis of hospital billing records identified 2,010 cases in 2008 and 2009 in which Las Vegas hospital patients were infected with MRSA or C. diff.
Health board backs limits on disclosure of infections
The divide over whether the public should know the specific hospitals where patients are contracting lethal “superbugs” was clear at Friday’s meeting of the state Board of Health. There were those who champion transparency — believing that revealing where the problems are will force officials to address them. And there were those who oppose it.
'We’re the ones who are in there. Our lives are entrusted to them.'
State Sen. Shirley Breeden understands the patient suffering caused by hospital-acquired infections. While she was in Carson City last year championing a bill to require stricter reporting of such cases, her father was battling a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, infection he contracted in a Las Vegas hospital.
Where I Stand
Fascination and frustration in reporting on Las Vegas hospital care
The assignment Sun reporter Marshall Allen was given two years ago was just one sentence, but would prove to be the most ambitious of his career: Find out what’s right, and wrong, about our local health care delivery system.
Interactive Features
Harmful events glossary
The data showed eight categories of harm including bedsores, infections, bone breaks and foreign objects accidentally retained after surgery.
See the results
Explore the data with interactive graphics and data tables.
Preventable injuries interactive »
Documents
See the source material behind the stories: legal filings, academic research, minutes from legislative hearings and internal e-mails.
Your stories
Have you or someone you know been harmed in a Las Vegas hospital? Make your voice heard.
Follow the Sun