A woman who suffered a chemical burn on her lower perineum and buttocks from iodine-based surgical prep solution applied before laparoscopic surgery has been awarded $5,500 in damages. A jury has found the Nevada OB/GYN who operated on her and the surgery center where the procedure took place liable for her injuries.

In a malpractice lawsuit heard in Washoe County's Second Judicial District Court, plaintiff Yvette Barton claimed that before her October 2007 surgery and LEEP procedure, a nurse at Surgical Arts Surgery Center in Reno prepped her with a betadine solution from her breast line to her thighs. Later, surgeon William Lloyd, MD, applied Lugol's iodine solution to her cervix. According to West's Jury Verdicts, Ms. Barton "claimed her vagina and buttocks were severely burned from the solution."

A PACU nurse confirmed that she still had iodine solution on her and also had burns on her buttocks when she arrived in recovery. The nurse reportedly washed the burnt area before Ms. Barton woke up from surgery.

The day after her procedure, Ms. Barton called the center and Dr. Lloyd to report a chemical burn to her lower perineum and buttock area, at which time Dr. Lloyd advised her to take a sitz bath with Epsom salts, according to the West's report. When she presented with burns again a few days later, the doctor reportedly diagnosed her with a chemical burn secondary to the Lugol's solution applied on the day of surgery and prescribed another sitz bath and a topical cream.

In June 2008, Ms. Barton says she saw another doctor for low abdominal cramping and vaginal pain, for which she's been treated with several nerve blocks. The plaintiff filed a complaint against Dr. Lloyd and the surgery center in October 2008, claiming that they fell below the standard of care in causing the chemical burn, which she characterized as a lifelong medical condition. She claimed to experience severe pain during sexual relations because of the injury and sought damages for her medical expenses.

The court granted partial summary judgment to the surgery center, which argued that Dr. Lloyd was not its employee. In June 2010, a jury found the surgery center 27% at fault and Dr. Lloyd 73% at fault for Ms. Barton's injury and awarded her $5,500 in damages for past medical expenses, past physical and mental pain, suffering, disability and loss of enjoyment of life, according to West's.

Neither the attorney for Ms. Barton nor the administrator of the surgery center returned calls from Outpatient Surgery as of press time. Efforts to reach Dr. Lloyd were unsuccessful.

Irene Tsikitas

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