Surgeon Is Hiding Something!!!!

What is the name of your state? Ill.
1 year ago I had surgery to remove my uterus. (hysterectomy). After the surgery I had complained of right leg pain. Numbness and tingling. As if your foot or hand would feel when it goes to "sleep". I complained about it several times to the doctor and he kept telling me that " I would be ok", not to worry. He prescribed Motrin 800mg and told me to take them Bid. Wasn't working after 6 months after surgery. After about 7 months with this doctor and still complaining he said "You must have injured yourself somehow". He blew me off and said he didn't know what to tell me. Well I had an MRI done about 8 months ago with my family dr. and he said that it showed injury to the femoral nerve and called it "meralgia paresthetica" and told me I needed therapy to get the nerve to heal properly. After about 3 months of therapy it was no better. My family dr. had wrote a letter to the surgeon who preformed the procudure and didn't hear from him. 10 days past and the family dr. called him at his office. The doctor took the call right in the room when I was in there and then excused himself to the outer office for conference with the surgeon. When he came back into the room he offered some pain pills and said for me to come back in 2 weeks if this doesn't help. 2 weeks went by and the pain meds weren't helping. (darvocet). When I came back to the office for an appointment he blew me off. He said "you look great", "things must be going well". When I told him that the pain meds weren't helping he simply said, "well I don't know what to do". Wanted me to see the surgeon who did the surgery. He pretty much blew me off again with no soultions. I am getting scared. I think something is terribly wrong and the pain will not go away. I have read up on this condition. I am going to another doctor. He told me I have damage to the nerve due to the surgery and I will have to have another surgery to take care of the nerve. In other words, cut the nerve to rid myself of the pain. Shouldn't this surgeon pay for this? I am thinking to myself and the 2 doctor's are blowing me off because they don't want to admitt that the surgeon screwed up. Just a gut feeling. Could I have just cause to make this surgeon pay for his mistake? Would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you for your time in advance.
Katy

The final paragraphs in your question sound as if you are planning to handle this matter yourself. Do not try to persuade the surgeon to do anything to help you now. Go to a malpractice lawyer. If you go to the web you can find malpractice lawyers in Illinois who will be happy to help you. You have a legitimate case against the surgeon, and maybe even against your family doctor. But try not to do anything that might alert both doctors. Let your lawyer handle the investigation that must be done before he (and you) know if you can make the first surgeon pay for not only another surgery that may not help, but for your loss of income and discomfort for these long months.
Go to a web site like "malpractice questions" or similar and look at the lists of lawyers they post. Good luck. I hope someone can repair the sciatic nerve that must have been nicked during surgery. The femoral nerve is a branch of the sciatic, and probably was injured in the larger root nerve. Anyway, you do have what sounds like a good case.

Well I checked out your website. WOW! I am going to order the book this Friday. I will let others know of this. I appreciate your "free-advise" and the time you took doing so. If I could just get them to pay for the future surgeries I would be tickled. I am a single mom and I would have to save at least 2 years for this kind of surgery. Shame the way people are treated. Thank you Jack

I appreciate your response and willingness to buy my book. Please, by it through me, not Amazon. I lose money with them. Thanks again. Just go to my website.

Question for you Jack. Just because one attorney won't take your case does that mean others will follow? I was told by a friend that their wife had complications with a similar surgery and just about every attorney turned them down. They were told that "hysterectomy mistakes and injuries" were hard to prove and were told most attorneys will not attempt to take a case involving hysterectomies. What is your opinion on these statments? I would appreciate any comments you give. Thank you again.
Katy

Malpractice cases are becoming harder for lawyers. This is because the AMA and other medical organizations have managed to get laws passed that make these cases difficult. Hysterectomy cases are not harder than others. Many times the lawyer sees little money for what these cases cost him to handle.
In your case, I think you may have damages (money or earnings loss) that could make the case more profitable for a lawyer. Go ahead and try several lawyers before you give up. Remember, you don't have to like the lawyer. Look for an older, angry man to help you.
My book tells you how to find a lawyer. By the way, did you order through Amazon? If you did, will you please cancel that order and send me your address etc. You can go through PayPal. They accept all credit cards, and that will get your order directly to me. I really appreciate your order. Look at my web page and you'll see a PayPal button, just click on it. Thanks. I'll eat the S&H for you.

[ellencee]

katyann6593
From what you have written, I can not determine if you had an abdominal surgery or removal of the uterus via vaginal procedure; as you have stated you have meralgia paresthetica, I infer that you had the hysterectomy performed vaginally and not abdominally.

Meralgia paresthetica is pain in the thigh, on the outer femoral surface as opposed to inside the thigh, and is due to injury or disease of the external cutaneous nerve of the thigh--impossible to nick during either procedure for a hysterectomy.

Most likely, you suffered nerve damage due to being in the stirrups during the vaginal procedure. If it occurred following an abdominal procedure, I believe it would be difficult to relate it to the surgery.

There are risks associated with surgery and a known risk is damage to nerves from stirrups or other positioning devices (retractors, restraints, and such). It happens to a certain percentage of people who undergo these procedures and occurs without an act of negligence.

A thorough review of the intra-operative notes should reveal a description of positioning and positioning devices and the length of time that such was in place. I doubt you will find an area of negligence during the surgical procedure.

You must be aware that this is not a slam-dunk claim for you as the plaintiff; you have to prove that a negligent act by a professional caused this damage to your nerve and that you suffered damages such as additional medical care as a result of the negligent act.

I'm afraid the outcome is going to be that you are one of those who incurred the effects of a known risk and not the victim of malpractice.

By all means, consult with a malpractice attorney in your area; most have free consultation appointments.

Best wishes,
EC

I had the surgery vaginally. The surgeon who preformed the operation yelled at me when I asked him what the pain in the pelvic and leg were.( This pain was there from the moment I awoke from surgery to now. ) He said "I don't know what to do" in a tempermental voice. He did not know the answers to my questions and basically blew me off with pain medication. When I went to the family dr. with my complaints he wrote a letter to ask the surgeon to get some info about the procedure and to help keep communition open. To try and mend fences so to speak. The surgeon didn't write, call or leave any messages to my family dr. My family dr. was upset. This family dr. was willing to go to the end of the earth for me. Embrassed me with hope to finding solutions to my medical needs. Then "BOOM", once the family dr. talked to the surgeon, after 15dys of waiting for a response, the family dr. did a 180 on me. I was floored! I couldn't believe his behavior toward me. He turned to ice. This is coming from a dr. who told me on my first visit, "your vagina has suffered alot of truma from the surgery." "The job they did to suture you up is a poor one at best."
Meanwhile, 10 months later, I end up with a leg problem, and my vagina is mamed. I find it rather odd. I went to several dr.'s that told me "you should go back to the surgeon who preformed the hysterectomy." They all were afraid to take me on as a patient. I just simply wrote the basis for my complaint. A messed up leg and an unuseful vagina. I am worse off than before this surgery. I am finding out that this procudure "most-likely" did not have to happen. I am seeing a new dr. now that said the surgeon/obgyn should of tried other methods to stop my heaving bleeding instead of hysterectomy. So, add all this up, and still no better after 10 months, I am still trying to recover. Thank you for your post ellencee.
Katyann

[ellencee]

Katyann
You have more than leg pain as your concerns regarding the surgical procedure! Actually, from what you posted recently, I'd think leg pain was a minor inconvenience!

I'll just add this suggestion--Write out a summary of what happened and take it with you when you go to an attorney. You'll want to be able to stay focused and to remember all of the different aspects of your complaints and what you have learned from each subsequent physician.

Good luck!
EC

I agree with Ellencee that your femoral nerve injury could have been from improper binding to the stirrups over a long time. But your hysterectomy does sound as if it was botched.
If you think your latest doctor is trustworthy, you might ask the lawyer you contact to talk to this doctor before he gives up. Alert the doctor to the lawyer's call so he doesn't feel trapped. The lawyer should assure this doctor that he will not be required to testify as an expert, but will simply be a treating doctor. The lawyer should be willing to protect this doctor. If he isn't, go to another lawyer. Treating doctors make poor experts in any case. Be wary of a lawyer who is so eager to win his case that he destroys every doctor he encounters.

Thanks Jack and Ellencee. Got more advice than I thought I would. You both have been very helpful. I already ran into the "eager" attorney you spoke of. He wanted to go after everyone!! He was scary!LOL. I am wanting "fair" compensation for the injuries, not blood!LOL. You two have been great. Thanks again. I will order the book through your website only. I can't wait to get it.! I am going to get the other book, "Why Does it Still Hurt?" also.
Katy