Although Ellen may be able to give you pointers on where to seek help, even she won't be able to definitatively tell you yes or no to your question.
OK, so my psychic powers are dwindling; you don't have to rub it in!
Deb50
If an attorney asked me whether or not in my professional opinion I believe your concerns merit an investigation into possible professional negligence, I would answer, "yes".
Circulatory and neurological status evaluations and interventions to reduce potential deficits are of primary importance in the post-op care of knee replacements. Patient reports of new pain, new discomfort, loss of sensation, etc. have the potential to be significant signs of permanent nerve/tissue injury. As such, these complaints can not be ignored and prompt evaluation and intervention by an MD is often required. It is the responsibility of the RNs and the physical therapist to make these assessments, evaluations, and initiate interventions to reduce potential risks of nerve/tissue damage.
The possible causes of the damage to your tibial nerve are: direct trauma, prolonged pressure on the nerve, and compression of the nerve from nearby body structures, and entrapment involving pressure on the nerve where it passes through a narrow structure in the knee joint. The mechanical factors may be complicated by ischemia (lack of oxygen from decreased blood flow) in the area.
You describe immediate pain in your hip after your leg/knee was repositioned in the CPM device. When this occurred, every effort should have been made to determine the reason for the onset of the pain and to correct the condition causing the pain. I suspect that either your hip became rotated internally or externally or that pressure was placed on the sciatic nerve (the tibial nerve is one lower branch of the sciatic nerve). More likely than not, it was pressure placed on the sciatic nerve and by morning, the nerve had been deprived of circulation, which means oxygen, and part of the nerve had been permanently damaged.
Quite frankly, I think you stand a good chance of proving professional negligence by one or more RNs and resulting significant damages that would not otherwise have occurred.
Medmal claims take a very long time to reach a conclusion. If an attorney takes your case, you can not expect any ease of your financial burden for a very long time (3-5 years).
Best wishes,
EC
