In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for medical malpractice, the defendants appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Richmond County (Maltese, J.), dated May 11, 2006, which denied their motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, and the motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint is granted.
In November 1995 the plaintiff suffered a compound fracture of his left leg when he fell off a ladder. He was admitted to the defendant Staten Island University Hospital (hereinafter SIUH) where the defendant physicians, Maryirene Flynn and Joel Bonamo, sued herein as Joel Bonanno, placed an intramedullary rod in his leg. On March 24, 2000, after the plaintiff complained of pain, stiffness, and swelling in his leg, Flynn and Bonamo removed the intramedullary rod on the basis that the leg had healed properly. Prior to the removal, the plaintiff was given antibiotics and lab tests were ordered. According to Bonamo, the plaintiff showed no clinical indications of an infection, and thus, the intramedullary rod was not tested for bacteria. Once in the recovery room after removal of the rod, the plaintiff was given antibiotics again.
On March 27, 2000 Bonamo examined the plaintiff and noted that the plaintiffs wounds were clean and there was no drainage. Again, on April 3, 2000 Bonamo examined the plaintiff and noted that there was slight drainage at the distal/medial incision, slight foot swelling, and a reddened anterior proximal screw site. At that time, Bonamo counseled the plaintiff on the signs and symptoms of an infection, but did not take any cultures because there were no indications of an infection. Between April 4th and April 6th, the plaintiff noticed redness at the proximal screw site, which he self-treated with Neosporin,
The plaintiff commenced this action alleging that the defendants Flynn and Bonamo negligently removed the intramedullary rod at SIUH and he further alleged that Bonamo failed to timely diagnose and treat the plaintiffs subsequent infection.
The defendants made a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law based upon the respective deposition testimony of the plaintiff, the plaintiffs wife, Bonamo, and Flynn, the plaintiffs medical records, and the medical affidavit of Dr. Edward T. Habermann, which established that the defendants did not deviate from accepted medical practice during their removal of the intramedullary rod from the plaintiffs leg, and in their subsequent follow-up treatment (see Williams v Sahay, 12 AD3d 366, 368 [2004]; Hoffman v Pelletier, 6 AD3d 889, 890 [2004]). In opposition, the plaintiffs evidence, including the affidavit of an anonymous medical expert, was insufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the defendants departed from accepted medical practice (see e.g. Alvarez v Prospect Hosp., 68 NY2d 320, 324 [1986]; Holbrook v
