#1 The GI doc that did the procedure had you sign a permit with one of the "complications" listed as infection, bleeding, perforation etc...
#2 Post procedure you were told that if you bled you were to show up to the ER or call the office... you did that.
#3 In the ER the doctor found out that you were bleeding and it really isn't important to measure the blood in the toilet cause a little bit of blood will look like a lot mixed with stool or water. Sometimes a lot of blood can be hidden behind a lump of feces, so only a little blood may fool you also. So the important thing to know is if you are CONTINUING to bleed. So they might want to compare you H/H (hemoglobin/hematocrit=blood level of RBC's) at the time of the ER visit with your pre-op H/H. They tend to repeat them every six hours and see how you are doing... if you are dropping then rescope and transfuse as a last resort.
#4 The "deer in the headlights" look was probably.... the doctor thinking... "this guy is bleeding and he's busting my balls for trying to prevent him from IRON SUPPLEMENTS as opposed to a transfusion." The reason men over 50 don't need iron is cause we don't menstruate and lose blood... so it builds up in our system and some seem to think that has a role in cancer and heart disease. If you are bleeding then you need the iron supplement to replenish your losses. Unless you have a metabolic disorder that stores abnormally high iron in your system. The doctor was trying to minimize the chance for transfusion... which can lead to transmision of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, AIDS, West Nile,...etc.. you get the picture, right? So the ER guy saves your life, tries to prevent you from getting a transfusion you might not need.
#5 You see the doctor in the ICU.... and what was the cause of the bleeding... polyps, perforation (doubtful)cause those tend to bleed INTO the abdomen and you die of infection usually, hemerrhoids, or what?
So it sounds like you got a $17,000 bill that you are upset about and are looking to stick it to the docs. I say................ go for it.
Everybody else does.
Make sure you name the GI doctor, Anesthesiologist, your family doctor, the ER doctor, Radiologist, and the Hospital. All of them will settle and you can come out with a profit..... Oh yeah, make sure you mention the sleep deprivation, the worrying and whatever else you can think of.... you can also add lack of consortium if you were unable to perform your husbandly duty during the 3 days and in the intervening time since your "trauma".
Did they find cancer or polyps? That's usually what the screening colonoscopy is for. The x-ray stuff mentioned is ok I guess but I'd rather do the colonoscopy.
By the way the number 1 reason for malpractice suits against doctors is not poor quality of medicine but poor communication skills towards the patient. Usually you just want to know "WHY?" and a suit is your only avenue... Really bad doctors usually bury their mistakes.........
I can believe that! I had neck surgery almost 2 years ago and have more pain than I started with.
I knew there were risks and might not get any relief but it actually is getting worse.
I have been complaining to the surgeon and my GP and they send me for x-rays, physical therapy etc.
Two weeks ago I found out by accident that the plate they installed to hold the vertabra together is too long and the lower screws are drilled into the DISC instead of the bone. I can't get anyone to tell me if this is bad, not important or sure to cause me to start looking like Cristopher Reeve.
I finally got an appointment with the surgeon (a month from now). I expect another cycle of BS instead of just leveling with me. I feel like I have a hand grenade in my spine, but maybe not, who the hell knows!
All well and good, what you said. The goal is zero mistakes, and when there are mistakes, somewhere in that fraction are doctors who have no business being at practice.
I'll give you a case in point: my son's birth was a traumatic nightmare that lasted 12+ hours and included failed forceps, failed vacuum and a delayed crash C-section that damn near claimed the baby and the mother. I watched the doctor in a full panic, after having berated my wife for 'not being up to the task of motherhood' drive the operating theater into a near frenzied panic with cursing, yelling and a hysterical tantrum. Nurses openly argued with him in front of me, saying he was making a bad case worse.
If I'd had my wits about me at that moment I'd have demanded he be removed.
Had my wife's uncle not been on the board of directors of the hospital group and had I not been diligent in demanding records immediately following the birth, I might not have found out some of what transpired.
When it was all said and done - I didn't sue- it was clear to me that at the very least I could have seen that OBGYN/SOB sanctioned by the medical board, if not suspended. It still makes my blood boil 9 years later.
I showed the physcian's own report to a close relative who is an internist. His opinion (not having been in the room) was that the OB's record was, at best, 'artfully written', in light of the other records I had.
Your response sounds to me like the words of a 'denial officer' with an HMO.