Ambulatory surgery centers are a relatively new concept. Before their emergence in the market, patients only had one option for operating room and surgical services, a hospital.
Now, outpatient or ambulatory surgical centers are seemingly everywhere. From a financial perspective, these non-hospital operating room setups are touted for their cost savings.
For sure, they benefit insurance companies because they are less expensive than the hospitals. In fact, if you have health insurance and schedule surgery, your insurance company may call to encourage you to select a freestanding surgery facility rather than the hospital, to save money.
Physicians and surgeons also embrace the ambulatory surgery center concept because they get to keep the lucrative facility fees, rather than have them grabbed by hospitals.
From my perspective as a Texas medical malpractice attorney, though, I’m not a fan of mandatory surgical centers. Now, to be sure, for most patients and most of the time, things go well in the operating rooms of freestanding surgery surgical facilities. But, what about when there’s a complication or something goes wrong?
Hospitals cost more for operating room and surgical services because they are fully prepared with staffing, equipment, and supplies, to respond to an emergency. Ambulatory surgical centers are not. Most of them, in fact, have transfer agreements with hospitals to handle their emergency cases. Thus, if the patient crashes in a respiratory or cardiac arrest during surgery in a freestanding center, the first response is to call 911 to get them to the hospital.
Sometimes, the emergency resuscitation efforts provided at every surgery center while the ambulance and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are on the way aren’t enough to prevent a serious brain injury or death.
Death rates at ambulatory surgery centers
A recent article in the journal Clinical Anesthesiology is entitled “Ambulatory Surgical Centers Deem Safe, But Mortality Varies by Procedure.” Mortality refers to death rates.
According to the research and study, here are the death rates at ambulatory surgery for the following procedures:
• Colorectal resection: 71.3 deaths per 100,0000 patients
• Cardiac pacemaker or cardioverter/defibrillator insertion, revision, replacement, or removal: 22.9 deaths per 100,0000 patients
• Creation, revision, and removal of arteriovenous fistula or vessel-two-vessel cannula for dialysis: 11.3 deaths per 100,0000 patients
• Amputation of lower extremity: 11.2 deaths per 100,000 patients
• Laparoscopy: 8.3 deaths per 100,000 patients
• Conversion of cardiac rhythm: 7.7 deaths per 100,000 patients
• Transurethral resection of prostate: 7.4 deaths per 100,000 patients
• Cholecystectomy (gallbladder surgery and common duct expiration): 3.6 deaths per 100,000 patients
Texas ambulatory surgery facilities
Texas Health and Human Services maintains a list of licensed ambulatory surgical centers. This is the current list for Harris County, Texas:
ACPS - THE SURGICENTRE
ADVANCED CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY CENTER AT METHODIST WEST HOUSTON
ALPHA SURGICAL CENTER
ALTUS BAYTOWN HOSPITAL
AZURA SURGICAL CENTER HOUSTON
BAY AREA ENDOSCOPY
BAY AREA HOUSTON ENDOSCOPY CENTER
BAY AREA SURGICARE CENTER
BELEZA SURGERY CENTER LLC
BINZ SURGERY CENTER LLC
CAPLAN SURGERY CENTER
CAPSTONE SURGERY CENTER LLC
CHI ST LUKES HEALTH BAYLOR MEDICAL CENTER AMB SURGERY CENTER
CHILDREN 1ST DENTAL & SURGERY CENTER
COMPLETE SURGERY HOUSTON NORTHWEST
CORM SURGICENTER
CRENSHAW AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTER
CRYSTAL OUTPATIENT SURGERY CENTER
CY FAIR SURGERY CENTER
CYPRESSWOOD SURGERY CENTER LP
DIGESTIVE DISEASE CENTER
DOCTORS UNITED SURGERY CENTER
EASTSIDE SURGERY CENTER
ELITE MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY OF OAKBEND HEALTH SYSTEM
EXECUTIVE SURGERY CENTER
FANNIN SURGICARE
FIRST STREET SURGICAL CENTER
GRAMERCY OUTPATIENT SURGERY CENTER
HEA GRAMERCY SURGERY CENTER PLLC DBA HEA SURGERY CENTER
HEIGHTS SURGERY CENTER
HMU SURGICAL CENTER
HOUSTON CHILDRENS DENTAL CENTER LLC
HOUSTON METHODIST BAYTOWN AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTER
HOUSTON METHODIST SURGERY CENTER - NASSAU BAY
HOUSTON METHODIST WILLOWBROOK HOSPITAL OUTPATIENT SURGERY DEPT
HOUSTON ORTHOPEDIC & SPINE SURGERY CENTER
HOUSTON PREMIER SURGERY CENTER IN THE VILLAGES
HOUSTON SURGERY CENTER
HUMBLE KINGWOOD ENDOSCOPY CENTER
HUMBLE VASCULAR SURGICAL CENTER INC.
IMPERIAL SURGERY CENTER
INOV8 SURGICAL
KATY AREA SURGICAL CENTER
KELSEY-SEYBOLD CLINIC AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTER
KELSEY-SEYBOLD CLINIC AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTER SPRING
MANN CATARACT SURGERY CENTER
MANN CATARACT SURGERY CENTER
MD AESTHETIC SURGERY CENTER
MEDICAL CENTER ENDOSCOPY LLC
MEDICAL COMPLEX SURGERY CENTER
MEMORIAL AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTER
MEMORIAL ENDOSCOPY CENTER
MEMORIAL HERMANN ENDOSCOPY CENTER NORTH LOOP
MEMORIAL HERMANN MEMORIAL VILLAGE SURGERY CENTER
MEMORIAL HERMANN SURGERY CENTER GREATER HEIGHTS
MEMORIAL HERMANN SURGERY CENTER KINGSLAND
MEMORIAL HERMANN SURGERY CENTER KIRBY GLEN
MEMORIAL HERMANN SURGERY CENTER MAIN STREET
MEMORIAL HERMANN SURGERY CENTER SOUTHWEST LLP
MEMORIAL HERMANN SURGERY CENTER TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER LLP
MEMORIAL HOUSTON SURGERY CENTER
MEMORIAL SURGICAL SOLUTIONS
METRO ORTHO AND SPINE SURGERY CENTER OF OAKBEND HEALTH SYSTEM
MVP SPECIALIST SURGERY CENTER LLC
NORTH CYPRESS MEDICAL CENTER A CAMPUS OF KINGWOOD MEDICAL CENTER
NORTH HOUSTON CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY CENTER
NORTH HOUSTON ENDOSCOPY & SURGERY
NORTHWEST SURGERY CENTER RED OAK
NW SURGERY CENTER
OAKS SURGICAL CENTER LLC
ORBIS SURGERY CENTER
PARAMOUNT SURGICAL CENTER PLLC
PEARLAND SURGERY CENTER, LLC
PHYSICIANS ENDOSCOPY CENTER
PHYSICIANS WEST HOUSTON SURGICAL CT LLC DBA PARK TEN SURGICAL CT
PINEY POINT SURGERY CENTER
PLANNED PARENTHOOD CENTER FOR CHOICE ASC
PROVINCIAL PARK SURGERY CENTER
PS SURGERY CENTER
RIVER OAKS SURGERY CENTER OF OAKBEND HEALTH SYSTEM
ROC ASC, LLP
SOUTHEAST SURGICENTER INC
SUMMIT AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTER
TEXAS AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTER
TEXAS INTERNATIONAL ENDOSCOPY CENTER
THE AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTER (ASC) AT LBJ
THE CENTER FOR CARDIOVASCULAR EXCELLENCE
TOWNSEN MEMORIAL SURGERY CENTER - MED CENTER
TOWNSEN MEMORIAL SURGERY CENTER - SPRING
UH COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY SURGERY CENTER
UNIVERSITY SURGERY CENTER
VITAL HEART AND VEIN ASC
WEST GRAY CENTER FOR SPECIAL SURGERY
WEST HOUSTON SURGERY CENTER
We are here to help
If you’ve been seriously injured or had a family member die because of poor care at a Texas ambulatory surgery center, then contact a top-rated experienced Texas medical malpractice lawyer for a free consultation about your potential case.
