Serious and Prolonged Staph Infection after Standard Surgical Prodecure

[Chemist]

Maryland:
I have and am currently experiencing home treatment antibiotic treatment and wound care after my back became huge from infection approx. 8 days after having my lower back surgery. My wife noticed my back became swollen, hot to touch and extremely painful wherein I went to the Neurosurgery and Spinal Treatment Center and they started me on oral home therapy antibiotics and morphine for pain. I don't have diabetes. Things worsened wherein doctor told me "go to hospital and check-in, they are expecting you and you will undergo IV antibiotic and treatment for the pain associated with infection. I was administered Vancomycin for a couple of days then I switched to Cipro and Cefepime (3rd gen. cephalosporin) twice and day and remained in hospital 10 days being released to my home for ro continue the IV cefepime after a PICC line (tubing from inside of brachial vein inside upper arm to the Superior Vena Cava of heart (where all veins lead to), making injections a breeze, however was scary thinking about it. This allowed my 6 week course of IV therapy to continue at home with home health care nurses setting me up on injection procedure and they would still be coming by house to change this PICC line bandage and would be coming more often for the wound care, for the incision cite infection after surgery was profusely draining. I still have fluid drainage and resultant pain from infection.

In retrospect, the hospital and doctor's were checking my sugar continuously in hospital (until I demanded this be stopped after normal blood sugar readings were consistent, yet the special meals continued) and I be put be on low sugar diet insisting I am borderline diabetic. I just had family physician check for this weeks prior to the surgery. Currently, I am not responding to antibiotics how I would like to see. I have home health care nurses pack the wound twice a week and change PICC line dressing weekly. I have bad feeling about all of this and feel it is getting worse.

I have 3 or 4 more weeks of treatment with antibiotics. I felt the wound should have been reopened and been re-cleaned from beginning. This would require more time and surgery from the surgeon who insisted on present route which is not healing my wound and as actually worsened. I do have Lyme's DZ which I doubt has contributed to this, for I hardly ever get a cold or have flue bug. What course of action or options do I have? The surgeon is a good surgeon as well as all his staff, but something went wrong and they are not sharing it with me. The surgeon said he wanted to discuss some issues at post surgery office visit, but the quick onset of infection has erased this from his memory. I do not know what is going to happen but drainage is increasing, not decreasing and I have insisted on coming into their facility late in day when wife came home from work and seen drainage through bandage, my shirt, bedding, etc. I am glad I have insisted on these unscheduled late in day visits to document and get some perhaps new insight for the PA's and/or surgeon's still there at 5:00 p.m. I just want to get better, but I am knowledgeable and even slightly clairvoyant, and I dont forsee things looking to rosy.

[justalayman]

has anybody mentioned MRSA to you? It sounds like it may be a possibility. Have any cultures been taken to attempt to identify the specific bacterium?

[lya]

The treatment being provided is for MRSA.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by lya

The treatment being provided is for MRSA.

That is what I though although OP never said anything about MRSA. Seems a bit odd that OP would not have been informed of that.

[Chemist]

Well, no very insightful replies thus far. No Lya and all, this is not a methicillin resistant strain or MERSA or they could not be using the antibiotics given, It is just prolonged and not getting well. MERSA will actually consume the tissue making incision larger. I have scene MERSA infections. This is a serious matter to me. I would have mentioned MERSA is this was the strain. No it is a typical Staph Aureas infection that is responsive to methicillin. The incision is still 5 cm deep and theu have been packing the wound at home with iodoform gauze. I am looking for real steps to take or courses of action to take. Is the hospital or anyone legally responsible for this? I have read the the lab reports as there was the Staph A. and Pseudomonas A. (typically present on everyones skin). Its seams the unintelligent one's like to try to strike fear or tease the inflicted or ill patient by automatically yelling "MERSA". Well, sorry bright ones, this is not MERSA. I need some help from those with real IQ's , having medical insightfulness which I already have a prior pharmacist and now presently a research chemist consulting part time due to Lyme's DZ, also unresponsive to treatment, first unresponsive to oral doxycycline, then IV Rocephin or ceftrioxone not effective twice.
What "LEGAL" rights do I have with this nosocomial or hospital borne infection source (dirty surgical tools, etc), that I feel the hospital is responsible for? Next, I will have to go into hospital for vancomycin Tx, which is rough on the veins running IV any length of time, but may be my only remedy to this unusually stubborn and non-responsive Staph infection (again sorry MERSA cheerleaders). The surgeons should have reopened the wound site immediately after seeing infected surgical site and irrigated the wound and rid the area of any residual debris, but went fore the typical lazy route with antibiotics and wound management. I am upset with this whole situation with PICC line in my arm, daily re-dressing the drainage from the surgical incision, etc. Again, any legal advice or sharp medical advice from a physician would be appreciated. Thanks

[justalayman]

but may be my only remedy to this unusually stubborn and non-responsive Staph infection (again sorry MERSA cheerleaders)

have you missed somewhere that MRSA is a staph a. infection? It is the specific strain of staph a. that makes it MRSA.

Do you realize that determination of proper antibiotic is often a locally determined choice and is a result of success or failure of previous MRSA treatments within that local area?

I don't know where you got your info on the drugs administered are not used to treat MRSA, it appears the NIH and the CDC disagree with you as well as many other reputable medical groups.

Its seams the unintelligent one's

It would seem the, as you put it, unintelligent one's, at least know how to spell seem. Unless, of course, you were speaking of the seam in your back a.k.a. sutured incision.

Not all MRSA infections present as "consume the tissue making incision larger". There are internalized MRSA infections where there are sometimes actually no exterior symptoms.

CA-MRSA is generally a surface infection but HA-MRSA is often internal. External symptoms are not a requisite to make the determination of HA-MRSA.

but hey, since you have all the answers already, there is no need to bother with anything else for you.

so, to your legal question:

What "LEGAL" rights do I have with this nosocomial or hospital borne infection source (dirty surgical tools, etc), that I feel the hospital is responsible for?

what can you prove? Nothing? Well, I guess there is your answer. Like you said, staph A is all over the place so an infection is an understood and possible problem with any surgery. Get over it. Oh ya, that's right. It's not responding to the treatments like maybe it's resistant!

[ecmst12]

Hospital-born infection is a known risk of any hospital stay. Infection is a known risk of any surgery. Your lyme disease could EASILY be causing or exacerbating the situation, weakening your immune system and making it harder for you to heal.

[lya]

No need to waste time in this thread, folks. It was obvious from the get-go.

[Chemist]

WOW, that justalayman is a real wise guy isn't he/she. What a non-feeling, incompassionate and angry jerk with a "wolfpack" of followers. WOW! MERSA in an acronym stands for MEthicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureas strain of Staphylococcus bacteria. So Yes, it is a Staph infection indeed, but it has to meet certain criterion to be classified as MERSA. But, my last thing hateful person. justalayman needs to have no info published regarding him, for he finds security (false and short-lived however if he offends the wrong person one day). All the help he could provide me was to take advantage of my poor typing skills and attack a misspelled word. I am angry at myself and embarrassed for discussing my real-life problem on this board. And it appears I am not the only newcomer or first post he has attacked. He actually enjoys it. I am sorry I wasted space amongst your wolfpack of posters. How would you fare if you actually met one of your board victims who was a professional boxer. I would just move on as if you were a "drunk" which is what I will do now. Again, sorry for invading your space. May your evilness be repaid 10-fold
Good Day