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Misdiagnosis, Not IBS

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Mark's Wife

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? IL

My husband suffered from pain in his right side and chronic constipation. In 2002 he saw a highly recommended GI Dr. who gave him a colonoscopy and an upper GI and CT scan. All results were normal and he diagnosed IBS and prescribed muscle relaxers. We treated his pain as IBS even though nothing gave him any relief and he just put up with the pain. In spring of 2005 it was so bad that we were fighting all the time and I begged him to do something about it. He never went back because he did all the tests and they were normal. In May 2005 he was let go from his job, though we do have cobra insurance. He went back to the same GI Dr. who gave him a new product for his constipation and did another colonoscopy, CT scan w/ barium and a lower GI. He said that all of the tests were normal, there are no more tests, maybe the pain is from adhesions from hernia surgery he had at age two. He referred us to a surgeon who looked at the x-rays and told us that my husband has a mobile cecum, a redundant colon and a condition called “cecal volvulus” (a twisted right colon). He said that he would have to do an open (not laparoscopic) surgery and that he would be in the hospital for 10 days. He is 75 years old and told us to get a second opinion and gave us the x-rays and reports. He also told us to Google “cecal volvulus” and found that the condition has a 100% mortality rate. We saw a wonderful surgeon who within a week did a laparoscopic ileocecectomy (removed more than a foot of his redundant colon and the right side of his colon that was mobile). He was out of the hospital in six days. The surgeon said that the condition was cutting off his blood supply which is why he felt so terrible all the time and the twisting was causing the pain and constipation. When our surgeon call the GI Dr. to tell him that he was doing this procedure the GI Dr. said that “he hopes this helps” and that he thought it was IBS. We can’t imagine that he ever looked at the x-rays or read the report as they stated clearly the condition that he had. My husband is better physically, but still is not looking for a job as he has felt terrible for years and is trying to get over the trauma of it all. Do we have a case?

Thank you.
 


panzertanker

Senior Member
Mark's Wife said:
What is the name of your state? IL

My husband suffered from pain in his right side and chronic constipation. In 2002 he saw a highly recommended GI Dr. who gave him a colonoscopy and an upper GI and CT scan. All results were normal and he diagnosed IBS and prescribed muscle relaxers. We treated his pain as IBS even though nothing gave him any relief and he just put up with the pain. In spring of 2005 it was so bad that we were fighting all the time and I begged him to do something about it. He never went back because he did all the tests and they were normal. In May 2005 he was let go from his job, though we do have cobra insurance. He went back to the same GI Dr. who gave him a new product for his constipation and did another colonoscopy, CT scan w/ barium and a lower GI. He said that all of the tests were normal, there are no more tests, maybe the pain is from adhesions from hernia surgery he had at age two. He referred us to a surgeon who looked at the x-rays and told us that my husband has a mobile cecum, a redundant colon and a condition called “cecal volvulus” (a twisted right colon). He said that he would have to do an open (not laparoscopic) surgery and that he would be in the hospital for 10 days. He is 75 years old and told us to get a second opinion and gave us the x-rays and reports. He also told us to Google “cecal volvulus” and found that the condition has a 100% mortality rate. We saw a wonderful surgeon who within a week did a laparoscopic ileocecectomy (removed more than a foot of his redundant colon and the right side of his colon that was mobile). He was out of the hospital in six days. The surgeon said that the condition was cutting off his blood supply which is why he felt so terrible all the time and the twisting was causing the pain and constipation. When our surgeon call the GI Dr. to tell him that he was doing this procedure the GI Dr. said that “he hopes this helps” and that he thought it was IBS. We can’t imagine that he ever looked at the x-rays or read the report as they stated clearly the condition that he had. My husband is better physically, but still is not looking for a job as he has felt terrible for years and is trying to get over the trauma of it all. Do we have a case?

Thank you.
The answer to your question lies in whether or not the cecal volvulus was present in 2002.
Unfortunately, that could have developed in the time frame from 2002 - 2005 when he was diagnosed.

Have your med mal attorney review the records, hopefully using an expert in the GI field, to evaluate your husband's previous studies from 2002.
 

panzertanker

Senior Member
Mark's Wife said:
The condition is congenital; he was born with it. It typically presents itself between the ages of 20 and 40.
Unfortunately, that could have developed in the time frame from 2002 - 2005 when he was diagnosed.

Then he does not have a true cecal volvulus.
http://www.emedicine.com/radio/topic137.htm
http://www-medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/GIHTML/GI032.html
http://www.fascrs.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=137




It is a torsion of the colon, not a congenital finding.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
It is not as simple at that, while it may be congenital, it may not present and/or the testing proceedures may in fact improve the condition masking the defecit. This condition is usually diagnosed with Xrays, prep for the colonoscopy, upper/lower GI also can tempoarily change the presentation, as do hydration and weight change, graveity plays a role so your husband's surgery to repair a hernia could add to factors complicating this rare condition, so that it might not appear in 2002 images and later appear. It is very rare and your husband may have in fact had IBS as a consequence of this condition before it reached the stage where it could be diagnosed. That is why his entire medical record would have to be reviewed by an expert for a medmal attorney to see if there is in fact any malpractice or if this in any way could be constrewed to be responsible for his loss of employment. These would be issues for the employment forum, in other words, he may or not have a medmal case and he may or not have a separate employment case if his disability was mismanaged.
 

Mark's Wife

Junior Member
Our biggest issue is with the GI Dr. who continued to say that all of the tests were normal even when they clearly were not normal. How many other patients are counting on this doctor to look at their x-rays and read the reports when in our case we know that he couldn't possibly have done that. If after three years he had read the results of the lower gi and said that this looks like something, go and see a surgeon, we would not feel like he is to blame but clearly there is something wrong when your doctor tells you that all of the tests are normal, there are no more tests that we can do, this could be adhesions but I believe that it is IBS. My husband never had IBS, to suggest that he did now that after his surgery he is completely fine is ridiculous.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Mark's Wife said:
Our biggest issue is with the GI Dr. who continued to say that all of the tests were normal even when they clearly were not normal. How many other patients are counting on this doctor to look at their x-rays and read the reports when in our case we know that he couldn't possibly have done that. If after three years he had read the results of the lower gi and said that this looks like something, go and see a surgeon, we would not feel like he is to blame but clearly there is something wrong when your doctor tells you that all of the tests are normal, there are no more tests that we can do, this could be adhesions but I believe that it is IBS. My husband never had IBS, to suggest that he did now that after his surgery he is completely fine is ridiculous.
I thought I chose my words carefully, apparently you are not understanding either Panzertanker or me.

It doesn't matter who you have the biggest issue with, it matters what the record and evidence show and the expert opinions.

There are reasons why something may be interpreted differently by different practioners and it is very possible that the tests were normal in 2002.

Some diagnostic tests are known to ease obstructions, this is a consideration.

Either consult a medmal attorney and let them review it for you and inform you of your options.

or

Without posting names, please post the exact text of each diagnostic test and we might be able to lend some insight.
 

panzertanker

Senior Member
Mark's Wife said:
Our biggest issue is with the GI Dr. who continued to say that all of the tests were normal even when they clearly were not normal.
How do you know they were not normal? Did you have another radiologist read them???
Mark's Wife said:
How many other patients are counting on this doctor to look at their x-rays and read the reports when in our case we know that he couldn't possibly have done that.
The answer to this directly relates to how you answer the above question I have posed...
Mark's Wife said:
If after three years he had read the results of the lower gi and said that this looks like something, go and see a surgeon, we would not feel like he is to blame but clearly there is something wrong when your doctor tells you that all of the tests are normal, there are no more tests that we can do, this could be adhesions but I believe that it is IBS. My husband never had IBS, to suggest that he did now that after his surgery he is completely fine is ridiculous.
Post the radiologic impression, word for word, of both the original interpretation and the follow up interpretation that disputes the first finding of "normal".

Thanks.
 

Mark's Wife

Junior Member
We knew that the test results were not normal because we brought them to two surgeons and they both told us that they were not normal. I thought that I had a copy of the report from the lower gi that stated that the test showed a "mobile cecum" (not normal, the cecum should be fixed) and a "redundant colon" (which is not normal but may not pose a threat unless there is a mobile cecum, which there was, and the patient complains of pain and constipation, which he did). We have the actual x-rays, but not the report. I will request it and get back to you.

I do have the GI Dr.s Physician Comments from the last colonoscopy:
"Normal colon appendical opening, terminal ileum. Schedule for BE x-ray for spot films of appendix."

They did the lower GI w/ barium that same day, 7/29/05 which I described above that the GI Dr. said was all normal.

Thank you for your help.
 

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