Med malpractice???

[Bonnie1964]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon
In March 2009 I had a few surgeries with plating and screws to fix a Tib/Fib break! I've had nothing but complications with my ankle! Severe pain constantly. I kept going back to my surgeon telling him that something is wrong. The last time that I saw him, He told me that he would NOT operate on me and there was nothing wrong! I was just hypersensitive to pain. He left the room, with me in tears, never to return!

I finally went to a new doctor a Podiatrist. who found a screw that should have been taken out as soon as I was able to put weight on my leg, well that would have been about 11 months ago. Also I should have been wearing a compression stocking all of that time.

I can finally walk without crutches, since the screw removal two weeks ago, I'm still in pain, but am on the road to recovery finally! I do have Osteoporosis in the bad leg now, and no cartilage left in my toes! That was due to lack of blood flow all of these months.(the compression stocking would have prevented this)

The standard of care I received from my first surgeon is unbelievable! He knew that screw had to come out in order for me to have ANY range of motion in my ankle. the screw was bigger that all the rest and a different kind of metal, it is the kind that deteriorates after time.

Do I have a case against my surgeon? this caused me a great deal of pain, and also 22 Physical therapy appointments that were useless! With the screw in there all of the stretching and torture could NOT help!
I haven't been able to work. If he would have done this when he should have, It would have saved allot of pain and suffering.
Thanks

 

[tranquility]

I finally went to a new doctor a Podiatrist. who found a screw that should have been taken out as soon as I was able to put weight on my leg, well that would have been about 11 months ago.

He must read some great journals as the ones I see (up to 2008) say things like:
Can J Surg. 2008 August; 51(4): 263–268.

Tibial fractures are the most common long bone fracture. The standard of care for the treatment of diaphyseal tibial fractures is an intramedullary nail (IMN). Implant removal is one of the most common procedures in bone and joint surgery, and criteria for implant removal are typically left to the treating surgeon. Currently, no clear criteria exist to guide a surgeon's decision to remove implanted tibial IMNs after healing.

and:
ORTHOPEDICS March 1, 2006

Despite how frequently syndesmotic screw fixation is performed in clinical practice, many variables exist that lack consensus in the literature, including indications, technique, size and type of implant, and necessity and timing of removal. Routine removal of all screws has been advocated by some1 while others suggest accepting screw failure.2 Some surgeons individualize screw removal based on clinical and radiographic evaluation.

However, at:
Technique of Snydesmotic Fixation - Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics

- PostOp Care:
- Wt Bearing:
- whether to allow wt bearing is controversial;
- concern is that screw will break w/ wt bearing;
- many advocate removal of syndesmotic screw before wt-bearing;
- if screw engages only 3 cortices, normal external rotation of fibula during dorsiflexion of the ankle will not be affected;
- radiolucency has been noted around such screws after pts have started to bear weight, suggesting that
loosening of the screw permits normal motion of the fibula;
- Screw Removal:
- many authors recommend removing the screw prior to full wt bearing, since the syndesmosis screw tends to limit
ankle motion (which would then transfer wt bearing forces against the screw - leading to breakage);
- generally syndesmotic screws are removed at 9-12 weeks, but there has been some recent
interest in waiting up to 4 months (to avoid late syndesmotic widening);
- bioabsorbable screw:
- at the time of screw removal, consider insertion of a bioabsorbable screw which will provide continued syndesmotic fixation,
and screw breakage is not an issue;

So, it seems like you will have a little problem in establishing the standard of care. When you say the screw was of a different type of metal, was it bioabsorbable? You (Actually, your attorney.), will need an expert. A podiatrist v. an orthopedic surgeon will most probably result in getting creamed in court.

I do note there does not seem to be a standard of care for the compression sock. While I have no knowledge of medicine, it seems to me you are going to have some swelling in the anterior and posterior compartments from such a surgery and a compression sock (at least early on) would lead to a greater risk of compartment syndrome. Besides, did you suffer any *provable* damage because of the lack of use of the sock?

The bottom line is that you may have some issues with your doctor, but, it is far more likely the health problems you have are the result of the break and not because of substandard treatment. You could certainly go to a medical malpractice attorney (always a good idea if you think you have suffered) it's just that I don't think you have enough damages to entice one to work on contingency in the first place and I'm uncertain if you have had substandard care in the second. As to the second though, I don't have the expertise to really give a good answer.

 

[Bonnie1964]

thanks for your info

My Podiatrist is also a surgeon!
the screw he removed was a in my ankle to keep in place therefore NOT allowing it move! You cant really walk with your ankle fixated in one place!
There was also 3 others that had worked themselves halfway out. all of the other metal is still in my leg!

Thanks I already found an attorney!

 

[ecmst12]

FYI, putting an exclamation point at the end of every sentence kind of diminishes the impact.

Good luck with your lawsuit.

 

[Bonnie1964]

Punctuation

Thank you for the punctuation lesson.