Question I don't have a clue if this is standard or if something went wrong with my husband's appendicitis surgery.
He went to the emergency room at 4:30 am last Friday morning, was given something to drink for a CT Scan, said he would drink it (1st hour) & then wait an hour then they would do the scan. From the time he got the drink to when they did the scan - 2 hrs, 45 minutes. He then waited an additional 5-1/2 hours before surgery to remove his appendix. He stayed in the hospital until Monday after being extremely sick, vomited and xrays were ordered and it was determined he has a blockage in his intestines. We are being told that there was puss on the appendix that stuck together the walls of him intestine causing the blockage. He is now being treated for a bowel obstruction and not sure when he's going to get out of the hospital. Everything I've read indicates number one..that the appendix should be removed immediately & nothing I've read has referred to a complication that would result in your intestine walls be stuck together like his are.
Thanks for your time..I'm not saying it's malpractice, I'm just saying I don't know what I need to do to see if this is something that happens through no fault of anybody but your own body. I don't know who to ask and how to find out.
Answer I consider any delay in surgical removal of an inflammed appendix is inexcusable. Doctors today are so fearful of trusting their own diagnosis that they run all sorts of unnecessary tests. Two hours and forty five minutes does not sound like a long delay if one is waiting for a roast to cook. But that is a long time in an appendix that is near to bursting. These doctor did malpractice, but whether or not you can win a lawsuit is a tough question.
In my book, Identifying Medical Malpractice, I have section on appendicitis and in this section is a list of signs written by Sir Zachary Cope, The Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen, Oxford University Press, 1921. Dr. Cope lists signs in order of occurrence and he insists that surgery is the only cure. Now, if you do get a lawyer I commend this book to him. Advise him that his case is in Dr. Cope's outline. Doctors today do not appear to know what doctors did in the days before Cat Scans and MRIs. A lawyer who lists the signs and explains to the jury what the significance of those signs is, will win his cae. I have seen that happen many times.
You might also recommend my book to your lawyer.
Get started now talking to malpractice lawyers. Choose one who seems to know what he is doing. After all, lawyers today are like doctors today and you must choose carefully. Get an old guy who is hostile. You do not have to like your lawyer, only trust him.
