The Benjamin Ticho lawsuit was a 2019 Cook County medical malpractice case filed by Sutton Dryfhout, a 19-year-old patient who alleged the Chicago Ridge ophthalmologist operated on her right eye in August 2017 when he was supposed to operate on her left, then tried to correct the mistake by performing a second procedure in the recovery room while she was awake and without anesthesia. Illinois regulators later suspended Ticho’s medical license for 30 days, fined him $30,000, and placed him on indefinite probation.
What the Patient Said Happened
Dryfhout had scheduled surgery on August 21, 2017 to remove a conjunctival cyst from her left eye and correct a wandering left eye. Consent forms authorized Ticho to perform a “revision of one muscle, left eye” and an “excision of conjunctival cyst, left eye.” Dr. Colette Major of Midwest Anesthesiologists Ltd. was authorized to administer anesthesia.
According to the complaint, Ticho operated on the wrong eye. Dryfhout woke in the recovery room with “bloody tears” coming from her right eye and a scratching sensation. When her mother, Denise Dryfhout, arrived, she saw trauma to both of her daughter’s eyes. Ticho then approached her with a clipboard and said, “we need to amend the consent.”1ABC7 News. Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye, Tried to Fix Mistake in Recovery Room, Lawsuit Says The suit alleged he had crossed out “left” on the form, written in “right,” and had Denise initial the change.
The Recovery Room Allegations
The complaint’s most serious allegations concerned what Ticho allegedly did after realizing the error. According to the suit, he returned to the recovery room, told the still-groggy patient he had “forgot something,” directed a nurse to hold her head down and her left eye open, and began operating on the correct eye while she was fully awake.2NBC Chicago. Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye, Tried to Fix Mistake With No Anesthesia: Lawsuit
Dryfhout described the experience in her own words: “I was awake during the second surgery. I was screaming for him to stop. I could feel the needle going into my eye, see the scissors he was using and smell the cautery burning my eye.”3Fox 4 News. Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye, Tried to Fix Mistake With No Anesthesia: Lawsuit The lawsuit alleged Ticho performed the second procedure without general anesthesia, without gloves, and using unsterilized instruments that had been used on another patient.4ABC News. Woman Sues Doctor Who Allegedly Operated on Wrong Eye
When Denise Dryfhout later confronted Ticho about inserting a needle into her daughter’s eye without anesthesia, the doctor allegedly replied, “I didn’t think she’d remember.”5Daily Mail. Woman Sues Doctor Who Left Her Screaming With Bloody Tears After Operating on Wrong Eye Ticho later called Dryfhout to tell her she needed to be tested for HIV and hepatitis because the instruments had been used on another patient, and he prescribed antibiotics.6ABC 13. Eye Surgeon Allegedly Tried to Fix Mistake With No Anesthesia
Dryfhout reported chronic headaches and double vision in the months and years that followed. The cyst in her left eye returned.4ABC News. Woman Sues Doctor Who Allegedly Operated on Wrong Eye
The Claims and the Defendants
Attorney Valerie Leopold filed the complaint in Cook County Circuit Court on April 29, 2019.7WGN TV. Lawsuit: Suburban Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye The suit named four defendants: Ticho, The Eye Specialists Center, Dr. Colette Major, and Midwest Anesthesiologists Ltd.
The complaint asserted negligence, medical battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and sought more than $50,000 in damages.4ABC News. Woman Sues Doctor Who Allegedly Operated on Wrong Eye The battery and assault claims rested on the allegation that the recovery room procedure was done without consent. Leopold pointed to the altered form: “You don’t get to change the consent after you have done the surgery.”1ABC7 News. Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye, Tried to Fix Mistake in Recovery Room, Lawsuit Says
Available reporting did not describe specific errors by the anesthesiologist beyond her involvement in the operation. Major held an active Illinois license and had no disciplinary history when the suit was filed.8ABC 30. Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye, Tried to Fix Mistake in Recovery Room, Lawsuit Says The published record reviewed here does not include the ultimate resolution of the civil case.
The Illinois Discipline Against Ticho
When the lawsuit was filed, Ticho had never been disciplined by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.1ABC7 News. Doctor Operated on Wrong Eye, Tried to Fix Mistake in Recovery Room, Lawsuit Says That changed in November 2021.
According to the IDFPR’s enforcement report, Ticho’s physician and surgeon license was suspended for 30 days effective December 15, 2021, for performing two surgical procedures on a patient “without proper informed consent and use of sterile equipment.” His license was then placed on indefinite probation for a minimum of three years. He was fined $30,000 and required to pass all five areas of an Ethics and Boundaries Post-Licensure Essay Examination.9Illinois DFPR. November 2021 Enforcement Actions
Ticho’s Illinois medical license is listed as active through 2029.10U.S. News & World Report. Dr. Benjamin Ticho His practice, Ticho Eye Associates, continues to operate at locations in Chicago Ridge, Tinley Park, and Munster, Indiana.11Chicago Magazine. Benjamin H. Ticho, MD