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NC surgeon accused of performing wrong bypass

Quality Improvement Monitor, February 10, 2005

A North Carolina surgeon may have performed the wrong type of gastric bypass surgery on more than 50 patients, according to The Associated Press.

Steven E. Olchowski, MD, performed the surgeries between December 2000 and the spring of 2002 at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC. The hospital faces eight malpractice lawsuits in New Hanover County Superior Court as a result of the weight-loss operations.

The lawsuits claim Olchowski told patients he would perform a gastric bypass surgery known as Roux-en-Y, which health insurance usually covers. The lawsuits allege he performed minigastric bypass, which usually is not covered.

The difference between the two is how the surgeon attaches the stomach and intestines.

Attorneys for six patients said their clients had complications such as stomach ulcers and needed a second surgery to convert the bypass into a Roux-en-Y, the AP reported.

It was not specified how much the lawsuits sought in damages.

The 57-year-old Olchowski resigned from New Hanover Regional Medical Center in 2003, the AP said. He now practices at Ionia (MI) County Memorial Hospital.

Olchowski is listed on the Michigan Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Web site as being certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

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