Doctors That Are Incredibly Incompetent And Why I Hate Them

Yeah, you’re a real fuckin’ professional. How many people have you either maimed or killed in say the last two months? I can name one–ME. I could have gotten better care at a mother fucking Taliban aid station, you rotting lump of camel dung.

Oh, you don’t remember me? Let me refresh your memory.

I’m the guy that walked into your office with a wart under my right little finger’s nail bed. “Oh no” you said. “We can’t freeze or burn that, it’ll just grow back.” I would have better served if I had visited the offices of Dr Nick.

So, instead of doing an X-ray to find the source of the severe pain that shot up my arm and into my chest at the slightest touch to any part of my finger that I can only pray someday you’ll experience, you prescribed Aldara cream and told me to give it twelve weeks to clear up. You didn’t tell me that Aldara is not FDA approved for common warts, but is a treatment for genital warts. Quacks like you don’t pay much attention to the FDA, do they?

You know what, Dr Dickweed? I was stupid enough to believe you knew what you were talking about. The product insert did say that redness and swelling were to be expected, but I could only take four weeks of the pure hell you put me through before I could see a Dermatologist. The insert didn’t describe what it can do to a finger because its not made to be used on fingers!

Well, I didn’t exactly see a derm because he plays golf and lets the PAs do his dirty work. Mr PA took a look at my swollen member (and I’m not talking about Mr Spanky) and decreed that I am the victim of a candida or yeast infection under my nail and prescribed a dose of Diflucan and put me on ten days worth of Dicloxacillin, an antibiotic, before he could remove my wart. At least he had the decency to give me something for pain.

Ten days later, Mr PA takes another look at my redder, more swollen finger and declares that my “yeast infection” looks much much better and that I’m ready for wart removal.

While Mr PA is injecting lidocaine into my pinky, he was sprayed in the face by the contents of my swollen finger. So much for a yeast infection, Shit For Brains. I hope that the contents of the cyst in my finger got in your eye and blinds you, you mold encrusted cum rag. Next time I would bet you put a gown and face/eye protection on before doing a surgical procedure LIKE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO, you sorry excuse for anal discharge. So tell me, did the large mass you removed from my finger look like a yeast infection???

So Mr PA finally gets smart and sends me for an X-ray and puts me on Cipro, a very strong antibiotic. Mr PA takes one look at my X-ray and cries out “There’s nothing else we can do for you, go see a hand specialist” And why did Mr PA say that you ask? Because THE BONE AT THE END OF MY FINGER IS ALMOST COMPLETELY EATEN AWAY BY INFECTION. Osteomyelitis, thank you very much.
I did some research and picked the best hand surgeon in town. He saw me (finally) in his office today. He’s going to amputate my finger this Friday, the day after New Year’s. Happy New Year’s mother fucker. I know my pinky finger doesn’t mean shit to you supposed medical professionals, but I’ve grown attached to it over my 43 years.

I’ve been out of work for two weeks and I’m looking at eight weeks of home IV therapy. They say I will experience phantom pain for some time after the amputation. I am so glad I have good insurance. This was all avoidable if Dr Dickweed and Mr PA would have listened to the patient and investigated the pain I had described to them and not glanced at my finger and said “wart” or “yeast infection” & “see ya in two weeks.” I’d sue the bastards but its only a pinky finger and the lawyers probably have bigger fish to fry.

To the Doctors: Please please please x-ray any patient that has shooting pain up their arms into their chests from a finger lesion. I firmly believe that my finger could have been saved by a timely x-ray.

To Dr Dickweed & Mr PA: We wouldn’t need tort reform/liability limitations if the States would start pulling the licenses of incompetent quacks.

I wish a happier New Year to all the dopers than I’m gonna have.

I’m so sorry to hear about this :frowning:

And being I’m a Legal Studies major, I can’t resist:

“ONLY” a pinkie finger? You are losing a FINGER because of this idiot doctor!!! You can easily prove it was his fault! This is a slam-dunk malpractice case! GO SEE A LAWYER!!! This guy’s malpractice company will jump to settle this thing out of court.

IANAL, but you should go see one pronto!

I gotta go with Snoopy, here, bud.

If I was on the jury, and your lawyer is talking to me about how you lost a body part because your doctor ignored your pain, I’d not only award you his house, car, and wife, but I’d volunteer to light the pyre myself…

Holy crap.

When I started reading this, I was thinking, “Geez, this guy sure is worked up over being perscribed the wrong meds.”

Then I got to the amputation bit.

What do you say to someone who’s about to have a piece missing?

I’m sorry, man. That, er, really sucks.

My condolences on the finger, and, yes, I’d agree that you need to use one of the nine usable fingers you have left to dial a lawyer, as well as the doctor’s licensing board, and anyone else you can think of.

If I was on the jury, and your lawyer is talking to me about how you lost a body part because your doctor ignored your pain, I’d not only award you his house, car, and wife, but I’d volunteer to light the pyre myself…

Heard that. Juries are unpredictable, of course, but it’s going to be hard to find 12 people who haven’t ever had a doctor ignore them when they were in pain. I mean, that’s what we pay doctors to DO: talk down to us and let THEM tell US how much pain we’re in, and where it hurts. Right?

Oh, and OP? You’re in the perfect state to have a case like this. We learned in General Law 101 that the best people to have on a malpractice jury are blue haired old ladies: they get a kick out of giving away other people’s money.

Holy shit. Just holy fucking shit. It’s your fucking finger! I really must agree that you call a lawyer. God, I can’t even imagine how I would react to the news “Hey, you’ll be ringing in the new year by losing a finger!”

Phantom pain?! Hit that motherfucker where it hurts.

I agree. This is what lawsuits are for.

Ow. Ow. Ow. I’ve had a large bacterial mass eating away at me, and it’s Not Fun. I hope that you are able to find some legal satisfaction.

Some of the best medical professionals I’ve ever been treated by were PAs, but that was because they KNEW THEIR LIMITS. When I had a bloody discharge from a nipple, the PA I was seeing said “That’s out of my league” and dragged one of the doctors in to see me (without an appointment). Later that day, he set me up with a specialist so that I could be diagnosed and taken care of ASAP.

Please inform your insurance company that the reason you’re gonna have to get this finger amputated was because of the combined incompetence of the first doctor and the PA. Perhaps you can prevent them from mistreating other people.

MAN, that sucks. In today’s computer oriented world, a pinky finger is not something to just discard lightly. Sue them for everything they own, and everything they ever will own. It won’t make up for your finger, but maybe it’ll help you feel better.

I agree with the others. From your description it sounds like you have the grounds for a real-live legitimate malpractice suit.

Sorry about the finger. :mad:

As someone who has suffered – but not nearly this much – at the hands of arrogant assmunch doctors, my sympathies are with you. I had tears well up as I read your story, E72521. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am that you’re having to go through this, and I don’t even know you. It’s crazy. (What you’re going through, that is. The sanity of my reaction is open to debate.)

As a lawyer (not a med mal lawyer) I can only agree with everyone. Call an attorney. Sue the bastards for all that you can.

Sue their fucking fingers off.

Potentially irrelevant words form a foreigner - in the U.K., we’d be thinking not only compensation for this appalling incompetence, but also “General Medical COuncil” and “struck off” - I mean, is there a way also to have this dangerous idiot severely disciplined by his “professional” body? Oops - don’t let him near bodies - we’ll call that “organisation” instead. SOrry I do not know what the U.S.A. version is.

That truly is terrible, E72521 :frowning:

Oh no. I’m sorry that you have had to endure so much pain and now an amputation. It’s really disturbing that things could get so bad without the doctor/PA realizing what was wrong!
Definitely a cautionary tale to all of us out there to get a second opinion if you feel like the doc isn’t doing everything they should be. :frowning:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=229265&highlight=pneumonia

You have all my sympathies.

I can’t help but think though, that with the run of luck you’ve had, that it might make sense to go to another hand specialist with your Xray and get yet another opinion before you have your finger amputated.

As bad as everything has been so far, I’d hate to see a postscript to this thread a month from now or more saying that the amputation turned out to be another example of incompetance.

Thanks to all for your kind words and sympathies. I haven’t spoken to a lawyer, but I did talk to a nurse friend of mine that used to work for a malpractice attorney, and she told me that unless its a total hand amputation or the thumb of a dominate hand, I would have a hard time finding a lawyer that would be willing to go to the trouble of suing. After all, losing a pinky is not debilitating enough to get the little blue haired ladies to cough up any dough. Other than my pinky being a perfect fit in my ear, I can go on living my life without it. It’s just the thought of losing a piece of my body that really burns my ass. I actually cried today, a 43 year old father crying like a baby. (shh, don’t tell anyone) I think its all out of my system now.

I have insurance that covers my medical costs and lost wages. However, I can assure you all that the Florida Agency For Health Care Administration will be investigating this whole thing and more than any amount of money, I want to see public reprimands and/or sanctions taken.

WHAT? They won’t do it cuz it’s “only a pinky”?

But…what about the next guy, who could possibly lose an entire hand or something…

OH man, that is so fucking WRONG.

I’m so sorry.

:frowning: (And cry all you want-you deserve it.)

I second Scylla’s advice that you get a second opinion. You might not actually need this surgery; there might be other, more conservative treatments you could try.

Arrogant doctors are difficult to deal with, especially when you get the feeling that they’ve never been really sick or seriously injured themselves. When they’re cold, arrogant, and completely wrong, or when they’re not willing to admit that they don’t know something, it’s really horrible. You’ve got my sympathies.

And, yeah, that nurse’s thing about not finding enough jurors to support you suprises me a lot. If I were a blue-haired little old lady (and, if I’m lucky, one day I will be–but I’ll go to a really good salon and avoid cyanotic coiffure chic. Or maybe I’ll just dye it jewel-tone turquoise or royal blue!) I’d vote for this doc to cough up.