The Florida Board of Medicine cleared a prominent West Palm Beach orthopedic surgeon of any wrongdoing related to two wrong-site surgery complaints filed by the Florida Department of Health in 2014 and 2015, according to the Sun Sentinel.
The board deemed the allegations that Dror Paley, MD, performed or furthered wrong-site procedures as groundless because he only planned the two pediatric surgeries. Matthew Harris, MD, actually performed them. The two surgeries occurred between 2012 and 2013 at the Paley Orthopedic and Spine Institute, located on the grounds of St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach.
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Both procedures involved two surgeons and two patients being operated on simultaneously but in separate rooms. This practice is permitted under Florida medical law. The medical board panel found no evidence to suggest this operational structure contributed to the errors.
During the procedures, Dr. Harris implanted metal plates in the wrong locations on the patients' bodies. The errors were promptly corrected and the patients experienced no lasting harm. The panel cleared Dr. Harris of any wrongdoing due to his young age and inexperience, along with communication breakdowns that occurred in the operating room, according to the Sentinel citing a health department investigation.
In January, Zachary Bell, the health department's assistant general counsel, delivered a letter to the panel. The letter suggested the complaints against Dr. Paley be dismissed after the physician's attorney provided "compelling, additional information, which suggests that neither [Dr. Paley] nor his surgical practice environment contributed to the wrong-site procedure."
Orthopedic surgeons at the Paley institute perform approximately 1,500 orthopedic procedures on adults and children from around the world every year.
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