Malpratice

What is the name of your state? Florida
In feb. 2002 i was refered to a neuro surgeon by my primary physician due to the results of a MRI he had done, due to lower back problems i was having. on May 30. i was diagnosed by the surgeon as having three degenerated discs (L3-S1) and a right-sided ruputer at L5-S1. The surgeon informed me as to what was intailed in repairing the ruputer. That he would go in and cut out the part of the disc that had ruputered. Then he explained what it would take to perform a fusion on the degenerated discs. That he would be inserting a cage around the three discs and take bone from my hip to pack the cage. And that this would fusion the discs as one. the surgeon told me he would like to see me have the fusion due at a later date, due to my age.But when i questioned him an if i only had the ruputered done would that relieve the pain i had been experiencing. He stated that the discectomy would only cure the radicular symptoms. At this time i told him i would have the discectomy done. it was scheduled for 5-17-02. on 5-7-02 i went in for my history and physical. but surgry had to be postpond for six weeks, due to me smoking. i had another intake on 6-25-02. but in the physical it was found that i had a problem with my carotid artery. I was given a ultrasound and it showed a 50% to 74% blockage. a few days later i was contacted by my surgeons office and told that the surgery would go as scheduled. but i went ahead and asked them to have the report sent to my primary for him to look at. He was not comfortable with the result of the ultrasound, so he scheduled me to have a carotid catheter done. The result showed a 80% to 90% blockage. I was then refered to a carotid surgeon. At this meeting i was told i had to have a surgery to clean the artery. i informed this surgeon that i have back surgey scheduled for 7-8-02 and could i go ahead with the back surgery first. He told me that if i was to have the back surgery done before the blockage was taken care of, that i had a 90% chance of a strock/heart attack, and that i may ever had made it off of the surgery table. so i postponed the back surgery until 9-19-02.
on 9-19-02 the back surgery was done. on 9-23-02 a doctor came into my hospital room and interdused himself as an associat of my surgeon. he left without looking at my back. the next time that i saw this doctor he was standing at my chart desk (just out side of my door). and i was standing with my P.T. and this doctor looked at me and "youre up on your feet, you can go home". At this time my P.T. had just got there and i still had my draining tubs in.And i was still waitting on my O.T. not long after this doctor released me, a young man came in and removied the draining tubs. at this time i asked one of the nurses if i could take a shower before i left. it was at this time the dressing was removed from by back for the first time.
i was released from the hospital with no kind of a back subport. i was told if i experenced pain in my lower back to go to an ER, and i was to call my surgerys office in one to two weeks for a follow up.The physical therapy that i got at the hospital, contained a walk down the hall, shown how to get out of bed, in and out of the shower and how to stand up and use the toilet. three days after my release a therapist came to my home, for one hour a day for three days. she showed me exercise's that i could do in a month or two. that has been the extent of my rehabilitation.
two weeks after my surgey i phoned my surgeon's office due to pain i was having in my back,buttock and right leg. i also want to schedule my follow-up appointment. I was told that they would have my surgeons ARNP call me, and as for my follow-up, it would take place six weeks after my surgery on 11-5-02. on this follow-up appointment they took x-rays of my back, and what i saw not only shocked me but p----- me off. this is when i found out they had inserted eight screws and two rods into my back. and i had never be told about it. when the ARNP came in the first thing i demaned to know was why was i never told about the screws and rods? her reply was " he (surgeon) had to have told you, because that is part of the surgery" even after i told her over and over again that i had not be told, she just repeted what she had already stated. I told her that if i had known about the screws and rods, i would never had concented to the surgery.
on 12-17-02 i saw the ARNP again and was released to return to work on 1-6-03 for light duty. even with the problems i tried to explain i was having. when i went to return to work i was let go due to the fact i had surpassed my 12 weeks of FML.
i have requested copies of my medical reports from the surgeon and the hospital, and from them i really started to learn more. it seems not only was i not told about the screws and rods, it seems that they feld to tell me that the surgeon i hired did not do the surgery. i went to this surgeon because my primary would not refer me to anyone else. because my primary made me believe this surgeon was the tops of his field. and now from the report, the surgeon states he was "present in the operating room for all pertinent parts of the procedure'. i was never told that someone else would be doing the surgery. but then again, what i have learned so far why would they tell me.
today i am worest then i ever was prior to this surgery. i am totally limited to my every day living. before surgery i could work, be on my feet for more then two hour and i did must everything i wanted. today i just would to be able to put shoe's and shocks on like everyone else among other thing that i alway took for granted. what i experience today i never experienced prior to this surgery. everything in my everyday life has been taken away from me. something a simple as putting on shoe's.
and the more that i learn today the less i was told by my surgeon.I intruested him with my life and to tell me the hole truth. it now seems that with me learning that they had placed screws and rods in my back, now it seems i have it all to do over again. come to find out that when the fusion takes and mends, they have to go in and remove the screws and rods. and the screws have been known to brake or come loss.
God knows that if i had known about the screws and rods i would never had concented to this surgery. due to first hand knowagle. my older brother had to have clips placed into his lower back a feww years ago. and i have seen what he has gone through.But i was never give the proper or complete information pertaining to what was going to be done, and what i had to look forward too.

as a patient (and a person) i had a right to know just what was totally going to be done to me, whom was going to be perferming this surgery, and what i should expect after it was all over. but i was never given that information.
i live with pain everyday. i live with the fear that i could move the wrong was and end up pulling the screws out.i was told that i would be better after the surgery. the truth is i was better off before the surgery.
is there anything i can do.?????:

A week or so ago you asked about your back surgery, but you did not say anything about the carotid artery problem. I answered you then that you should see a lawyer, and then I felt strongly that you might have malpractice case.
Now I am not sure. First, how old are you? How long have you smoked? How much worse now is your back pain after surgery? Are you still smoking?
I suspect when you talk about your age, it is because you are probably over 65 years old. Is that correct? The plan to do your surgery in two or more stages separated by weeks makes me think this.
I am afraid that you may not have a good case. You should still talk to a lawyer and see what he thinks.

[ellencee]

Robyn Conley
I don't think age or carotid artery surgery has any implication on malpractice in this situation. The primary physician was astute in sending you for further evaluation and surgery (carotid artery) and your complaints are not related to carotid artery aspects or other arterial aspects.

Please tell us, from your medical records, the name and/or description of the surgery for which you signed, giving your permission. Please tell us if the permit states something to the effect of 'and any additional procedures as needed/required' and if the name(s) of the surgeon on the op permit are the same as the surgeon(s) who did surgery.

It is possible that once you were on the table and your vertebrae were directly visualized (by sight, not x-ray) that your condition required stablization with rods and screws and simply performing the removal of the herniation was not an option and neither was the use of a 'cage' for stablization. Only your x-rays' and your op report's being read and opined by a surgeon (of the same type practice) will give you any factual information about your condition. You are welcome to post information from these records and we can do some research, or maybe vrzirn would answer (?!).

If you were expecting surgery on your vertebrae to end your pain and discomfort and prevent any further pain and discomfort, you were not realistic in your expectations. Surgery on the spine is done to prevent further destruction of the spinal column and reduce the potential for paralysis, etc. Pain is sometimes reduced considerably, but I don't know of anyone for whom the pain has been completely alleviated; and, I know some for whom the pain became worse than before surgery.

From the description you provided about the pain you are experiencing, it sounds like you have sciatic nerve pain. Over the counter medications such as aspirin products and ibuprofen are anti-inflammatory medications and reduce the inflammation and relieve the associated pain. If you can take these medications safely, try some, or maybe your primary physician will be able to prescribe some stronger medications such as Motrin or Prednisone; ask. (acetamenophen products such as Tylenol do not have any anti-inflammatory properties and will not relieve sciatic nerve pain no matter what their ads may boast)

Back to the issue of malpractice--I have serious doubts that you have any valid claim, but I am not an orthopod and I don't have your records.

Best wishes and if you want to post those records (no names, please), I'll see what information I can find for you.
EC

Hi Robyn: I also replied to you last time and thought you needed to continue to work with PT. (I still think think that, but I surely understand your frustration). The fact that you are a smoker and had carotid artery disease could well mean your physical shape was not up to snuff prior to surgery and thus your recovery is going to be a longer haul. Being a smoker, your recovery and "feeling better" could take a very long time -- upwards of a year, and it's possible that you won't ever be pain free (let's hope that won't be the case).

You've indicated that you were given a description by the surgeon of what was wrong with your discs, that you had a ruptured disc (which causes pain), and what would be done surgically to correct your spinal problems. The surgeon also described the caging apparatus that would be used for the fusion, and as well it appears he told you the surgery would relieve only the radicular pain.

You were screened for this lumbar surgery and found to need a carotid endarterectomy, and this delayed the back surgery. You state were told the risks if you opted not to have the carotid surgery prior to the back surgery.

It just seems there are more indications that things were done "right" than things were done "wrong". I used to work in a neurosurgeon's office, and spinal surgery (or any "neuro" surgery for that matter) is not a picnic (as you well know)! It's usually pain that brings the patient to a neurosurgeon; and then the patient has to endure quite a bit of pain post surgery; the recovery period is long; and it often takes a long time to see positive results (decreased pain, return of normal function). I think you need to think more positively if you can, get back into PT and do exactly what they are telling you to do, and give your back some more time. The bunch I worked with were very good at trying to keep their post op patients as comfortable as possible. As ellencee said -- get your doc to prescribe you something like Motrin, etc. Most patients in the amount of pain you describe (at least where I worked) were prescribed Aleve (and in most severe cases -- they were prescribed the narcotic pain relievers).

You described very well the preop and postop period, what was explained to you, what was done by PT in the hospital, etc., and I just don't see anything that's indicative of "a case". But then again -- you need to let an attorney tell you that! Best of luck to you anyhow. And again -- Get back in touch with your neurosurgeon and keep plugging away. Our PT always preached the benefits of a positive outlook. Try to be that way as much as possible. I know it's hard. I've seen some patients purely exhausted from continued pain, and I've thanked my lucky stars above that it wasn't me. Hang in there.



hmmbrdzz

All this information points to one big problem. You had surgery done (the man you did not know until after surgery) by one of the new hot-shot spinal orthopedists. Actually you are lucky not to be worse off than you are. Orthopedic surgeries of the kind you had often leave the patient with more pain than before. Many times the surgery will have to be undone and the ironware removed. I'm sorry, but you have a lousy chance at a lawsuit. But talk to a lawyer, and start going to see a neurosurgeon for any future care. You have no reason to continue seeing the guys who screwed you.

[pele]

Just my two cents - I hope you have not started smoking again after surgery. If you have, the fusion will not take. I work for a spine surgeon, we have patients who go through this big surgery, start smoking again once the surgery is done, and in a sense, derail their recovery and lose all benefit the surgery might have given them.