16-05-2025
A Broward doctor fined for misplacing catheter that caused a stroke
A Fort Lauderdale doctor accused of causing a stroke by putting a new catheter in the wrong place will pay some cash and take some classes.
That's the punitive action approved by the Florida Board Of Medicine's final order concerning Dr. Francisco Bermudez. Officially, Bermudez neither admits nor denies the allegations in the Florida Department of Health's administrative complaint.
Also, officially, Bermudez agrees to the fairness of the $5,000 fine; $2,684 reimbursement of department case costs; and continuing medical education courses in risk management (five hours); vascular surgery (three hours) and perioperative medicine (three hours).
Bermudez's online Department of Health entry says this is the first disciplinary action against the license he has held since May 2005. The American Board of Surgery says he has been board certified in general surgery since 2007.
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Catheter replacement
The administrative complaint says a patient came to Holy Cross Hospital Nov. 5, 2018, for an infected dialysis catheter. Bermudez removed the catheter and replaced it.
Bermudez 'did not order a post operative chest X-ray to confirm the proper placement of the Quinton catheter,' the complaint said. 'Unknown to [Bermudez] at the time, the Quinton catheter had inadvertently been placed into the patient's carotid artery. The patient subsequently suffered a stroke due to the incorrect placement.
'The prevailing professional standard of care required [Bermudez] to ensure that a post operative chest X-ray was ordered to confirm proper placement of the Quinton catheter.'
