Bentonville woman files malpractice lawsuit over neck surgery
Posted on Thursday, September 18, 2008
A Bentonville couple filed a malpractice lawsuit Tuesday against Dr. Cyril "Tony"Anthony Raben.
Theresa Paulino and her husband, Eddie Paulino, seek damages because she lost use of her legs following a neck surgery by Raben on Dec. 17, according to the complaint.
Raben on Nov. 17, 2006, performed surgery on her neck known as "decompressive anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion surgery."
Follow-up CT scans showed the failure of fusion in a region and showed that at least two screws used to hold the medical hardware in her neck were backing out, according to the complaint.
In October, Raben recommended a second surgery to remove and replace the hardware, remove bone spurs and fuse the region that failed to fuse after the previous surgery, according to the lawsuit.
After this second surgery Dec. 17, Paulino complained of pain and said that something was not right, Raben completed a third procedure that same day.
Paulino claims that, after this third procedure, she could barely move her arms, had pain in her neck and could not feel her legs.
Despite extensive therapy, Paulino claims that she has limited use of her arms and has not been able to walk since the morning of her surgery.
Raben did not return a phone message to his office seeking comment.
Northwest Arkansas Spine and Orthopaedic Associates LLC is also named in the suit because it is Raben's clinic, according to the Paulinos' complaint.
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