Sandra Long and her husband “the Longs” brought an action for battery, loss of consortium, and punitive damages against Dr. Radha Srinivasan Natarajan after Dr. Srinivasan1 removed tissue from Long’s buttock during surgery on Long’s neck and shoulder. The trial court granted Dr. Srinivasan’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the procedure was permitted under the terms of the consent form Long signed before her surgery. The trial court also excluded the Longs’ expert affidavit. The Longs appeal and, for reasons that follow, we affirm. 1. At the outset, we note that the Longs’ brief contains only one citation to the record and that none of their factual contentions is supported by reference to the record. The brief also cites Long’s deposition, which is not included in the record.2 These violations of Court of Appeals Rules 25 a 1, c 2 i, and c 2 iii have greatly hampered our review of this case.3 We remind counsel that our rules on the form of appellate briefs “were created not to provide an obstacle, but to aid parties in presenting their arguments in a manner most likely to be fully and efficiently comprehended by this Court.”4 And we will not cull the record on behalf of the Longs; it is their burden to show error affirmatively in the record.5
2. On appeal from a grant of summary judgment, we conduct a de novo review, “viewing the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn from it in a light most favorable to the nonmovant.”6 Summary judgment is appropriate when no genuine issue of material fact exists and the evidence “warrants judgment as a matter of law.”7 The parties agree that Long scheduled surgery with Dr. Srinivasan to remove areas of lymphatic tissue from her neck and shoulder. Before the surgery, Long signed a consent and waiver form that provided:I acknowledge and understand that during the course of the procedures . . . conditions may develop which may reasonably necessitate an extension of the original procedures or the performance of procedures which are unforeseen or not known to be needed at the time this consent is obtained. I therefore consent to and authorize Dr. Srinivasan to make the decisions concerning the performance of and to perform such procedures as she may deem reasonably necessary or appropriate in the exercise of her professional judgment, including those procedures that may be unforeseen or not known to be needed at the time this consent is obtained. This consent shall also extend to the treatment of all conditions which may arise during the course of such procedures including those conditions which may be unknown or unforeseen at the time this consent is obtained. During the surgery, Dr. Srinivasan noticed what she described as an abscess four centimeters in diameter on Long’s left buttock. She decided to remove the abscess after considering its size and location and the difficulty Long had experienced being intubated for surgery. Long contends that what Dr. Srinivasan described as an abscess was merely an insect bite and that its removal resulted in a painful wound.
