AboutGlenn A. Dorfman Expertise Twenty-four years experience in personal injury, medical malpractice and medical product liability law. Practice currently concentrated on the diet drug (fen-phen) litigation. Qualified to answer all questions regarding injuries and the law, except for worker`s compensation.
Question I just had three feet of small intestine removed because scar tissue had strangled it off. My question is the length of time they made me wait, causing the 3 feet of intestine to die. I went into emergency on a wednesday morning and they didnt do surgery until Thursday evening. The pain was excruciating even though they gave me "DOLLOTTED" evey two hours. They did a CAT scan and X-Ray and told me it was blocked on Wednesday afternoon. I guess I should be happy, Im ok now minus my three feet of intestine, but really if they would have done the surgery that day, I believe they would have just been able to cut off the scar tissue, and the 3' of my intestine would not have died and saved all that undue pain. Isnt a day in a half wait for a stangulated intestine a little long to wait for surgery?
Answer Heck, I suppose you could have died if you waited much longer. Gangrene could have set in. I am not a gastroenterologist and don't know your medical condition that day so I just don't know if the delay caused you more damage than you would have had if emergency surgery was done. Maybe the condition did not worsen and the result would have been the same. Maybe your belief is incorrect. Again, how can I say? Also, I do not know how losing 3 feet of intestine will affect you. Will it change your you ability to absorb nutrients? Will it change bowel habits? Will you have to restrict your diet? Again, I am not a doctor and don't know these answers. Obviously you need to find out. But bottom line is this: If a medical expert would be willing to say that the delay resulted in major disabilities that you would not have otherwise had and that surgery should have been done immediately, you should contact a local medical malpractice atty.
