Uploaded April 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Appendicitis is a medical condition involving the inflammation of the appendix, a tube of tissue that extends from the large intestines. Surgery is required to remove it because if left untreated, the inflamed appendix will eventually burst or perforate, discharging infectious materials into the abdominal cavity.
A hospital and physicians admitted a patient with acute appendicitis and prepped him for urgent surgery. But instead of removing the entire appendix during the appendectomy operation, the hospital surgeon left a substantial portion of the appendix, which went on to rupture, leaking fecal matter into the patient’s abdomen for weeks.
The plaintiff started feeling fevers, chills, and a general feeling of profound discomfort. His wife brought him back to the Emergency Department 12 days later when his symptoms worsened. A CT scan showed three large collections of infectious fluid with air bubbles around his liver, cecum, and pelvis.
The patient was admitted into surgery for an exploratory laparotomy. Upon entering the patient’s abdomen, a foul stench filled the operating room. Surgeons reported seeing giant pools of fecal fluid, murky old blood, discharged pus, and a necrotic colon comprised of dead tissue that would need to be removed.
Stuart Ratzan, Esq., and Stuart Weissman, Esq., needed visuals that would show the egregious level of negligence involved in the first surgery, illustrate the disaster it created in the patient’s abdomen, and demonstrate the surgery needed to clean up the mess.
We delivered an animation that would achieve the following visual objectives:
+ Introduce viewers to the abdominal anatomy, and show what the patient's initial appendicitis looked like.
+ Compare the correct way to remove it versus the incomplete appendectomy performed by the defendants.
+ Illustrate how the appendix ruptured, filling the abdomen with infectious fecal matter.
+ Compare the animated scene to a colorized CT scan taken by medical providers before the second surgery, confirming the locations of infectious matter.
+ Break down the surgery that was required to suction out the murky fluid, remove a dead section of the patient’s colon, and reconnect the patient’s colon tube to restore intestinal continuity.
The following animation helped The Ratzan Law Group return an undisclosed, seven-figure settlement for the plaintiff.
See the entire case study:
highimpact.com/case-studies/7-figure-settlement-botched-surgery-leaks-fecal-infection
Appendicitis is a medical condition involving the inflammation of the appendix, a tube of tissue that extends from the large intestines. Surgery is required to remove it because if left untreated, the inflamed appendix will eventually burst or perforate, discharging infectious materials into the abdominal cavity.
A hospital and physicians admitted a patient with acute appendicitis and prepped him for urgent surgery. But instead of removing the entire appendix during the appendectomy operation, the hospital surgeon left a substantial portion of the appendix, which went on to rupture, leaking fecal matter into the patient’s abdomen for weeks.
The plaintiff started feeling fevers, chills, and a general feeling of profound discomfort. His wife brought him back to the Emergency Department 12 days later when his symptoms worsened. A CT scan showed three large collections of infectious fluid with air bubbles around his liver, cecum, and pelvis.
The patient was admitted into surgery for an exploratory laparotomy. Upon entering the patient’s abdomen, a foul stench filled the operating room. Surgeons reported seeing giant pools of fecal fluid, murky old blood, discharged pus, and a necrotic colon comprised of dead tissue that would need to be removed.
Stuart Ratzan, Esq., and Stuart Weissman, Esq., needed visuals that would show the egregious level of negligence involved in the first surgery, illustrate the disaster it created in the patient’s abdomen, and demonstrate the surgery needed to clean up the mess.
We delivered an animation that would achieve the following visual objectives:
+ Introduce viewers to the abdominal anatomy, and show what the patient's initial appendicitis looked like.
+ Compare the correct way to remove it versus the incomplete appendectomy performed by the defendants.
+ Illustrate how the appendix ruptured, filling the abdomen with infectious fecal matter.
+ Compare the animated scene to a colorized CT scan taken by medical providers before the second surgery, confirming the locations of infectious matter.
+ Break down the surgery that was required to suction out the murky fluid, remove a dead section of the patient’s colon, and reconnect the patient’s colon tube to restore intestinal continuity.
The following animation helped The Ratzan Law Group return an undisclosed, seven-figure settlement for the plaintiff.
See the entire case study:
highimpact.com/case-studies/7-figure-settlement-botched-surgery-leaks-fecal-infection
