Do we have a case??

[Centil]

My mother was recently hospitalized for a slow heart rate due to potassium block. She was 95 years old and suffered from late stage Alzheimer's . She had recently had a DVT and was on coumadin but no other medications. We were caring for her at home. The doctors told us she needed a pacemaker but they did not believe it was a good idea to operate because of the risks involved. We were told they might not be able to administer anaesthesia because of possible difficulty in getting the tube down her mouth to give anaesthesia, 2. Due to her osteoporosis they said she would not be able to lie flat on the operating table. The general impression they tried to create is that it just wasn't worth it. Anyway, after waiting a day while she was on a temporary pacemaker we decided to go along with medical opinion and she was disconnected from the pacemaker and allowed to die peacefully. I guess I'm wondering if the doctors really told us the truth about risks, etc. I've since read other information that implanting a pacemaker is pretty routine and does not require general anaesthesia. My question would be did the doctors overstate the possible risks and if they did would we have a case to sue?? This happened in Washington D.C. Please be patient with me, we are still in our grief. Thanks,
C.

[ecmst12]

Pacemaker surgery is simple and routine in an otherwise HEALTHY patient, most of the time. In a very sick patient, not so much. It took something like 4 tries to get a pacemaker to stick in my grandfather, because the walls of his heart were so thin, it kept coming detached, they ended up having to go with a different type of pacemaker (attached in a different place) and THAT didn't take on the first attempt either. If the second attempt on the 2nd pacemaker hadn't worked, I think they would have done the same thing as you did; we got "lucky" and the 4th surgery gave us a few more months with him. But the risks they explained sound reasonable to me and it sounds like you made the right decision; her chances of surviving the surgery at all were very low. She lived a good, long life, but was very frail and suffering from dementia. Her body was simply shutting down. The doctors advised you to let nature take its course rather then attempt to artificially prolong life past its reasonable end, knowing that the QUALITY of that life (even if she did survive the surgery) was not going to be very good.

I am sorry for your loss and hope you find a way to work through it.

[longsally111]

My grandfather had a pacer inplanted and he dies 3 days later!!!!!!!! Complications from surgery can always happen. She was 95 and lived a full and happy life and was allowed to die peacefully and with family in her presence. I believe you are a very lucky person.

[Centil]

Thanks both of you for your kindly and helpful responses.

C.