SLO doctor knowingly replaced knee with too large of a prosthetic, lawsuit alleges
A San Luis Obispo surgeon knowingly replaced a knee with hardware that was too big and didn’t alert the patient even though she reported severe pain, a new lawsuit alleges.
Dr. Michael Laird is an orthopedic surgeon at Central Coast Orthopedic Medical Group, which has locations in Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria. He operated on Barbara Ryan on May 31, 2019, the lawsuit said, replacing her knee.
But the knee surgery didn’t help Ryan’s pain, the lawsuit claimed, but rather amplified it. The pain in her knee worsened for four years before she sought a second opinion and found her replacement was too large for her knee and loose.
During those four years, the lawsuit alleges, Laird took X-rays of Ryan’s knee, told her her knee was stable and suggested the pain was either because of slow healing or an allergy to the metal.
The lawsuit alleges Laird, Central Coast Orthopedic Medical Group and French hospital had advanced knowledge and expertise to know the prosthetic was the wrong size and inserted it anyways, then continued to ignore the issues that then arose from the incorrectly performed procedure.
In a statement to The Tribune, a Dignity Health spokesperson declined to comment on the specific allegations, adding, “the care and safety of our patients is always our highest priority.”
Laird and Central Coast Orthopedic Medical Group did not respond to request for comment on the allegations.
Ryan alleged medical negligence, battery, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in the lawsuit.
The botched surgery left Ryan with “intense anxiety, emotional distress, insecurity and fear,” the lawsuit said, which was attributable to Laird’s alleged negligence.
Knee prosthetic was loose, too big, lawsuit alleges
A year after Ryan’s knee replacement surgery, the lawsuit said, Ryan was still experiencing knee pain.
In response to Ryan reporting her pain, the lawsuit said, Laird told her during the one-year follow-up exam that some people take longer to heal.
By her two- and three-year follow-up visits, the lawsuit said, Ryan’s pain was getting “increasingly worse.”
Laird took X-rays of Ryan’s knee during each visit since her surgery, the lawsuit said, and told her the knee was stable.
Her last visit with Laird occurred in March 2023, the lawsuit said. Ryan was taking four tablets of Norco, or hydrocodone, per day to manage pain at that time. She told Laird her knee was “constantly swollen” and “so painful it would wake her up at night,” the lawsuit said, and kept her from participating in normal activities like standing for any length of time or walking normally.
According to the lawsuit, Laird took X-rays of Ryan’s knee and again told her that her knee was stable. He looked at her knee and told her she may be one of the 3-5% of people who are allergic to the metal used in knee replacements.
On May 31, 2023 — four years to the day from her operation — Ryan sought a second opinion from another doctor who referred her to see a specialist for her knee, the lawsuit said.
The specialist Ryan said the hardware Laird had used in the knee replace was too large, according to the lawsuit. That specialist sent Ryan’s X-rays to a surgeon at a Stanford facility.
Laird then denied there had been any issue with the prosthetic hardware he inserted into Ryan’s knee, the lawsuit said.
During her visit on Sept. 25, 2023, the Stanford surgeon looked at Ryan’s knee extensively and took several X-rays. He drained fluid from her knee and sent her to physical therapy for two months before deciding to operate, the lawsuit said.
The surgeon found that the hardware in Ryan’s knee had loosened and they scheduled a knee-revision surgery, the lawsuit said. After the surgery was complete, the surgeon told Ryan the loose hardware was a major contributor to her pain, the lawsuit said.
“The pain and injury caused by the prosthetic put into Ms. Ryan’s knee by Dr. Laird showed it lacked any diagnostic or therapeutic affect,” the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit said after the second surgery, Ryan “immediately felt different.” Her chronic pain was gone and she was able to successfully walk without a cane or walker and participate in physical therapy, the lawsuit said.
The next hearing is currently scheduled for December. Laird, Central Coast Orthopedic Medical Group and French Hospital all have 30 days to respond to Ryan’s complaint.
Surgery left other patient with nerve damage, lawsuit says
This is not the first time a surgery by Laird left a patient in pain.
According to a lawsuit filed against the surgeon in May 2022, Laird operated on Kenneth Maas to fix a partial tear in Maas’ rotator cuff on Sept. 8, 2020.
The next day, the lawsuit said, Maas had “significant swelling and tingling” in his hands and arms, which Laird said would eventually go away.
At a one-month follow-up, the lawsuit said, Maas told Laird he had “continued, constant and worsening” shoulder pain radiating to his arm. Laird told Maas he was “progressing well since the surgery.”
The same thing happened at a two-month follow-up appointment with Laird. That’s when Maas saw another doctor and was eventually referred to Dr. Abraham Rasul Jr.
Rasul prescribed Maas steroids for his swelling hand and did a nerve conduction test. He did a second nerve test in December 2020.
In March 2021, the lawsuit said, Rasul determined Maas had sustained nerve damage that was likely a result of the surgery performed by Laird.
This case was settled and dismissed by September 2022.
This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 10:12 AM.
