WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy is reviewing how its Bethesda, Md., medical center cared for Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who died after gallbladder surgery, a Navy spokesman said.
The "in-depth, standardized, quality-assurance review" is routine in rare cases like Murtha's death when a patient dies after surgery, Cmdr. Danny Hernandez told Politico.
The review follows reports from Politico, The Washington Post and CNN that it appeared Murtha's intestine had been cut during the normally routine laparoscopic surgery at the Navy Medical Center Jan. 28, leading to an infection.
Murtha, 77, was admitted two days later to an intensive care unit at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., for complications resulting from the surgery.
He died Feb. 8, officials said.
Mortality rates from gallbladder surgery are low, even for elderly patients -- between 0.7 percent and 2 percent, Politico quoted the University of Maryland Medical Center as saying.
