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Surgeon gave a second amputation of the same bone without asking me or discussing it with me first?

  • I had an above knee amputation on my right leg, everything went very well and I was due for discharge after about 6/7 weeks, on the Monday before my Friday discharge my surgeon said he was taking me to theatre to remove a small lump from behind my stump, he said I would be back on the ward in an hour as I was expecting a visit from my wife, I woke in intensive care obviously very poorly, and it turned out the surgeon amputated another 4 inches from my stump, and I knew nothing about it or had any idea that was their plan,, as I never discussed it, agreed to it or consented to it, a woman was saying it was her fault I was in intensive care with type two respiratory failure as she gave me too much anaesthetic in theatre but she was ushered away by the doctors, also when my wife arrived at the ward looking for me the nursing staff just kept telling her they didn't know where I was so I must still be in recovery, my wife asked the same question every hour from 1 pm till 9 pm and never got an answer so she went home, only for the hospital to phone my wife at 06:30 the following morning to inform her I was in intensive care and she should come in, so when I eventually got back to my ward days later I returned with a much shorter stump, pneumonia and breathing problems ( which I still have ) When I eventually got to speak to my surgeon about a week later he seemed genuinely surprised with my anger as he was asked to perform the surgery by the consultant who oversees all amputees who told my surgeon the one of the prosthetic team, a physiotherapist and himself had a meeting with me and I agreed my stump would be ether if it was shorter. I NEVER had any such discussion with anyone, that was a complete lie, and the consequence was that instead of being in hospital for about 7 weeks, I was in hospital for just short of 6 MONTHS, and that in itself has affected my work, my marriage and my physical and mental wellbeing. I have been advised to sue the nhs, what should I do?

  • Answer:

    Go ahead and sue. Of course, the docs may just say that in looking at the lump, he found it medically necessary to remove more of the stump.

Ian at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Do not do anything for none of this makes sense. First of all, a relative would insist to find you and not go home. She was there for about 8 hours and she did nothing to locate you which to me makes no sense to this question. All hospitals have written consent forms before any surgery is to be performed. Not once did you mention a consent form so this is why I do not believe your situation. Also, no one has surgery in a theatre but you're from the UK so do not know how you describe things in a hospital. Even if you took this to court it would be your word against the entire staff. You have no witnesses or paperwork to back you up. This is why I said do not do anything for its a loss case.

smiles

The doctors need to have your permission to perform the amputation and any subsequent operation. They will (should) speak to you and get you to sign a consent form. The woman who spoke to you and told you that she gave you too much anaesthetic must have been a doctor. Something has clearly gone wrong here. The first thing I advise you to do is write to your GP and request that you be given a copy of your medical records from this period. You are legally entitled to have a copy of these - your doctor can not legally refuse you providing S/he is given a written consent. Please ensure that you request your medical records from a set period onwards. Getting your records will take some time and your doctor must formally acknowledge your data request (this area of the law is covered by the data protection act - this may be slightly different in scotland to the rest of the uk). While this is being done I also suggest you make a formal complaint to the health authority or hospital that has been providing your care. You can get details of this from the web site of the hospital you were treated at or from your doctor again you have a legal right to complain if you feel that the treatment you have received has fallen below the standard you expect. The hospital must then acknowledge your complaint and do an independent investigation. If you are still unsatisfied with their decision you can appeal it with the medical regulator. This process will take some time and while this is on going I would advise that you speak to a lawyer who specializes in medical cases. Bring along your medical records so they can go through them with you. This will help then determine whether or not you have grounds to sue on grounds of negligence. Please don't go quietly and be a victim. There are to many victims in this world and you and your wife deserve better.

Robert

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