We are very concerned for my father, and I’m curious if he is receiving poor medical treatment and even medical malpractice. Here is what I know so far. For the record all of these events are happening in Canada.
About six weeks ago my Father received surgery for a growth inside of his bowels. The surgery went well and he was sent home. There was no event for about four weeks. He remained bloated and couldn’t seem to lose weight despite a small conservative diet to help him recover. About two weeks ago he began to throw up everything and we returned him to the hospital.
It turned out that he had in excess of 5 litres of fluid built up in his abdominal cavity! All the fluid was obstructing his bowel and preventing food from passing through. The doctors hooked up a tube and bag to drain the fluid out. His bloating went down and he felt much better. A test was taken of the fluid and sent away to see if there was urine in the fluid. The doctors reassured us there was likely going to be no problem with the fluid. My Dad was sent home, feeling better, though the bag needed to continue to stay with him so his insides could recover.
So for the past two weeks his bag continued to drain fluid. We heard no result from the test. All was well until yesterday when my dad developed a fever. We were advised to give him some Tylenol and if the fever did not go away to take him back to emergency. We did so, and as the fever did not go away we took him back to emergency.
After a long day of waiting and not understanding what was going on, we finally figured out what the real problems have been. A ct scan gave us the result. In my dad’s original surgery the surgeon apparently nicked one of tubes in his urinary tract (I forget the name of it but my mom knows) and URINE has been leaking into his abdomen for six weeks. Furthermore…he has a kidney infection. Now this kidney infection may be a result of this nick, which is bad enough, but there is another problem. Surgical clamps were left inside of my Father after surgery, and we were not told of this. In fact we are receiving some conflicting stories. The doctors told us yesterday the clamps were in my father to prevent bleeding during surgery…however another person told us that the clamp was still attached to his kidney. Which to me explains the infection. My mother asked about the test results from the bag which was sent away and why no one looked at it. We were told it simply “Slipped through the cracks”
Last night apparently (i was not there) the best doctors in the city have come to give him fast care. He was scheduled for surgery this morning, but the rushed ahead and did it last night. To me and my mom it seems like they are trying to cover themselves. We did not receive anywhere near this high of care over the last month.
I am not a doctor or medical professional of any sort and don’'t want to make flaming accusations especially while I am angry. Right now I just want to make sure my dad is okay, but I am wondering if the errors from my dad’s first surgery are simply accidents? Is it malpractice? Can surgeons leave clamps inside patients without notice? What about the lack of test results from the bag? I’m worried about my dad’s kidney right now, and apparently the tube they nicked has to be replaced with another surgery, so there may be long term damage.
You need to preserve the record of what happened. I suggest you contact a malpractice attorney who would work on a contingency basis. Tell him/her what you know and let them begin an elementary process to acquire information. Initial consultations are generally free or cheap.
The main thing seems to be the clamps being left inside. The nick on a urinary tube may be a potential risk even with ordinary care. Misdiagnosis of the outcome is also an issue for a professional to ascertain.
The good news is that they have now jumped on the case and will likely resolve all the issues hopefully with no long term sequelae.
Sounds like things went from OK to bad to worse then maybe…OK? Let’s hope so now that they are taking it seriously.
Depending on what the original surgery was - partial colectomy (removing part of the colon), left side maybe? - damaging the ureter is probably one of the possible complications, as it is in the same neighborhood. That’s unfortunate, but probably not entirely unreasonable. Sounds like they did consider that possiblity when they sent the fluid out for testing. But that’s when they dropped the ball. “Slipped through the cracks” is probably right. They were probably waiting for the results of that test to trigger the next move. When the results didn’t come, they were not reminded of the situation, and they did not remember it independently. A classic systems error. (Not that it helps now, but it’s always good to ask, when “testing” is being done, when you can expect a result, and when should you call back if you haven’t heard anything - then call back not a minute later.)
The clamps? That just sounds like a mistake. Again, systems error. They should have counted those at the end of the procedure.
Do these things rise to the level of “malpractice”? Ultimately that’s a court decision. FWIW, it does sound like they have recognized their mistakes and are acting in good faith to rectify them. What would be nice is to have an open frank discussion with the surgeon(s) involved in the original procedure. Ultimately, they are responsible.
My mom told me that when the doctors found the clamp inside of him yesterday, it was a surprise to them. Which to me indicates a problem.
I confirmed it was a colectomy and the tube damaged was the Ureter. The nicking of the tube doesn’t bother me as much as the clamps and the test result.
We are documenting everything in writing for the moment.
Yes, I would document and contact a lawyer. I’m glad they’re acting now, and I’m sure most of this was just a big mistake, but it’s a good idea to retain a lawyer just in case.
Yeah its malpractice. Cutting the ureter is the big thing you DON’T want to do when you are in that part of the abdomen. Any decent surgeon should be super paranoid when working in that area. Also, its common practice to check urine after a surgery in that area to make sure that there isn’t any blood present, which would indicate damage to the ureter.
Secondly, they should have known whats up when he went to the hospital the second time. Did no one bother to ask why he had built up all that fluid in his peritoneal cavity?
I’d be angry. It is definitely malpractice. Whether you sue or not is up to how much you like your doctor. I probably wouldn’t if they got their ducks in a row pronto.
I used to be an Operating room nurse and counting sponges and instruments before and after are crucial before sewing the patient back up. The clamp should never have been left in.