The father of two young children, ages 7 and 10, has “lost his ability to work, support his family, and live independently due to the permanent paralysis.”
SEATTLE — A Seattle dentist permanently paralyzed after a surgery at University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center filed a tort claim last month, accusing the doctors who performed the procedure of negligence and not properly detailing the risks involved.
According to the tort claim filed March 21, Dr. Ron Ko had surgery at UW Harborview to remove a spinal cord neoplasm, a benign tumor.
The surgeons told Ko the plan was to biopsy the tumor and try resection if possible, the claim explained. Ko said his neurosurgeons assured him he was expected to fully recover within three months and return to work as a general dentist. According to the claim, Ko was told he might experience temporary weakness after the operation, but he was considered low-risk for complications because of his health and lack of comorbidities.
After the surgery, Ko was permanently paralyzed from the chest down. Ko said in the claim he was not told complete paralysis was a possible outcome from the surgery.
Ko, 41, a father of two young children aged 7 and 10, has “lost his ability to work, support his family, and live independently due to the permanent paralysis caused by the surgery,” according to a release Wednesday.
“I walked into UW Harborview on my own two feet with only mild tingling in my lower extremities,” Ko said in the claim. “Now, I am permanently paralyzed from the chest down.”
According to the claim, Ko was told neural monitoring signals were lost about 70% of the way through the procedure as the surgeons continued the operation. Ko also said he was misinformed that his surgery, which took eight hours instead of four to six hours, would be performed exclusively by two fellowship-trained surgeons. He was told residents would only observe from behind glass and would not participate in his procedure.
Once the surgery paralyzed him, Ko said he spoke to other neurosurgeons who said the operation could have been stopped if there were complications and tried another time.
In the claim, Ko said the surgeons promised a full video of the procedure for review, but he has only seen still images.
Ko, who is hospitalized and participating in inpatient rehab, will discuss his claims Thursday afternoon against the surgeons involved and UW Harborview.
A spokesperson for UW Harborview said Wednesday afternoon they are not able to comment on Ko’s claims.