The Operation that Wasn't.................

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

So my wonderful son-in-law (the good one) was due to have some major surgery done on his leg this morning.

My daughter went with him. He was taken back into the room where they prep you. He was given various drugs to calm him (Valium, etc). They even put in pain blocks in his leg. He was given I've (everything in his arm hanging).

He was wheeled into the operating room.........and right before they totally knocked him out......the Dr was examining the cadaver skin they were going to use and said,"The operation is off. This skin has been radiated, not flash frozen. I can't use this skin. The operation is off for today".

How about that? So right after my daughter watched my son-in-law be wheeled into the OR, she got a message from her teenage daughter that she (the daughter) had left a very important paper at home she needed for class.

My daughter rushed home, picked up the paper and was leaving the high school when her phone rang. It was the Dr telling her she could come pick up my son-in-law.

He said that it would take time for him to come around but he would eventually be able to go. He told my daughter what had happened.

My daughter now has to make arrangements for the operation next week, I believe it's next week. I haven't talked to her again about it.

Meanwhile, my poor son-in-law is still very loopy. He's only had one other operation on this same leg so drugs really affect him.

I assume the nurses would pull out the pain blocks on his leg since they aren't needed because they didn't (thank GOD) cut on him.

My youngest daughter and I both had pain blocks on our legs but we had the operations. My daughter was sent home with her pain blocks. She pulled out one and her boyfriend pulled out the back one she couldn't reach.

I was in rehab when I had both knees operated on at the same time. They eventually pulled out the blocks there.

So, it will be interesting to hear who payed the hospital for the rental on that operating room.

My sister was an ER nurse (among other things). It's very, very expensive to 'rent' those operating rooms.

I have a friend who worked at a hospital and dealt with expenses, etc. She said probably the Dr will have to eat the cost of the room. I said he'll probably pass the cost on to whomever made the mistake (the company).

One way or another, it's a costly mistake and meanwhile, my poor son-in-law got sent to La La land today.

One interesting thing. I don't know if any of you saw where I put out here that my Dr whom I see every 3 weeks for back problems told me that Celebrex is one of the most difficult drugs there is to get people off of. She said she deals with people who've taken Oxy, etc and Celebrex is the most difficult to detox from the body.

I had no idea it was used anywhere around operations for pain, etc. I was given Celebrex by two Drs. One I never got filled because I don't believe in taking a lot of medicine (rather stand the pain) and the other I got filled, took one pill, got sick as a dog and never took another one. That's when I found out about dependency on this drug.

I hear so much on TV about drug addiction. Here Drs are still prescribing some of these drugs are not much better.

We will be hearing about Pot and the lungs, etc just like my generation and lung, throat and tongue cancer.

Human's will never learn.

dex · ‎03-09-2010

@Annabellethecat66 @Well that was a day.Your poor sil will have to go through all of that again,..geesh.What happened to his leg...if private never mind but I am curious about the cadaver skinI thought they would peel some off his own body.What about rejection...will he need those drugs?

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

@dex I don't understand what this operation was for. I know he (like many of us) has already had the miniscus repaired, so I know it wasn't for that.

He was a runner in college and high school so it was damaged then. But I remember when he and my daughter were at UVA, he did something to it then.

But this.......well, she explained it to me, but it went over my head. I don't understand what the use of skin is all about.

I'll try to pin her down and ask so my pea brain can get it straight. Then I'll let you guys know.

I'm curious too as to why they need cadaver skin? That just seems weird.

So, I went back and read her text and she said they were going to get some from Maryland (we live in Va) but they were worried it would thaw before then.

But I'm thinking, things are kept frozen all of the time, so I don't understand that.

She has 3 teenagers and a 7 year old boy. She's a stay at home mom (thank goodness) or else she'd be totally crazy! Ha!

My son-in-law works for himself as a sub-contractor (computers) for the government. But even with that, he'll supposedly be out for a few weeks.

She said something in her text that the Dr probably weighed a chance of using it anyway and getting a malpractice suit or piXX ing off a patient. He (thank goodness) decided to piXX off a patient. Ha!

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

That's life, stuff happens. I'm half full type of person so I listen this and I think your son in law was very lucky that his surgeon noticed the skin that was to be grafted before te operation and cancelled the surgery. I look at this I think, it was great that no incision was made. The surgery will be rescheduled. Definitely it was inconvenient and very disappointing for your son in law and now he has to go through all that preop stress again. But, it is what it is. As for the hospital charge. The hospital will bill and the insurer will indeed pay the hospital. There are rules for billing cancelled surgeries. Which happen for various reasons. However, your son in law should not be billed for any hospital copays or deductibles. In a situation like his, the hospital I work for would not bill the patient for anything because what happened was in no way the patient's fault. Unlike patients who are specifically instructed not to eat after 8pm and then after they are prepped and wheeled into the OR, they say "Oh, I ate breakfast this morning". Surgery is cancelled but in that situation (which happens too often) they do charge the patient for deductibles and copays. If you son in law is billed, he should call Patient Financial Services and explain what happened and demand that they write off the patient balance. As for the allogenic skin for grafting (we don't say cadaver skin); it's the surgeon's preference. Some surgeons prefer frozen, some surgeons prefer irradiation.

Anonymous032819 · ‎03-29-2019

@Annabellethecat66

Have you ever thought about starting a blog?

The Sky looks different when you have someone you love up there.

RealtyGal2 · ‎01-05-2017

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:
So my wonderful son-in-law (the good one) was due to have some major surgery done on his leg this morning.

My daughter went with him. He was taken back into the room where they prep you. He was given various drugs to calm him (Valium, etc). They even put in pain blocks in his leg. He was given I've (everything in his arm hanging).

He was wheeled into the operating room.........and right before they totally knocked him out......the Dr was examining the cadaver skin they were going to use and said,"The operation is off. This skin has been radiated, not flash frozen. I can't use this skin. The operation is off for today".

How about that? So right after my daughter watched my son-in-law be wheeled into the OR, she got a message from her teenage daughter that she (the daughter) had left a very important paper at home she needed for class.

My daughter rushed home, picked up the paper and was leaving the high school when her phone rang. It was the Dr telling her she could come pick up my son-in-law.

He said that it would take time for him to come around but he would eventually be able to go. He told my daughter what had happened.

My daughter now has to make arrangements for the operation next week, I believe it's next week. I haven't talked to her again about it.

Meanwhile, my poor son-in-law is still very loopy. He's only had one other operation on this same leg so drugs really affect him.

I assume the nurses would pull out the pain blocks on his leg since they aren't needed because they didn't (thank GOD) cut on him.

My youngest daughter and I both had pain blocks on our legs but we had the operations. My daughter was sent home with her pain blocks. She pulled out one and her boyfriend pulled out the back one she couldn't reach.

I was in rehab when I had both knees operated on at the same time. They eventually pulled out the blocks there.

So, it will be interesting to hear who payed the hospital for the rental on that operating room.

My sister was an ER nurse (among other things). It's very, very expensive to 'rent' those operating rooms.

I have a friend who worked at a hospital and dealt with expenses, etc. She said probably the Dr will have to eat the cost of the room. I said he'll probably pass the cost on to whomever made the mistake (the company).

One way or another, it's a costly mistake and meanwhile, my poor son-in-law got sent to La La land today.

One interesting thing. I don't know if any of you saw where I put out here that my Dr whom I see every 3 weeks for back problems told me that Celebrex is one of the most difficult drugs there is to get people off of. She said she deals with people who've taken Oxy, etc and Celebrex is the most difficult to detox from the body.

I had no idea it was used anywhere around operations for pain, etc. I was given Celebrex by two Drs. One I never got filled because I don't believe in taking a lot of medicine (rather stand the pain) and the other I got filled, took one pill, got sick as a dog and never took another one. That's when I found out about dependency on this drug.

I hear so much on TV about drug addiction. Here Drs are still prescribing some of these drugs are not much better.

We will be hearing about Pot and the lungs, etc just like my generation and lung, throat and tongue cancer.

Human's will never learn.

I am not supposed to take anti-inflammatory drugs, but Celebrex is different in it's make-up from the others (I am told). I was able to take 2 rounds about twelve years ago for a swollen knee and one round several months ago for my other knee (injury). I have not had problems either time getting off Celebrex. Just my experience

Drythe · ‎07-09-2011

@Anonymous032819 wrote:
@Annabellethecat66

Have you ever thought about starting a blog?

@Anonymous032819

You’ve mentioned you wanted to be a writer, maybe you might enjoy writing one.

"Animals are not my whole world, but they have made my world whole" ~ Roger Caras

SandySparkles · ‎06-13-2010

I can only imagine the anguish he experienced. The Dr. did what a prudent, ethical doctor should-thank goodness. I am glad your post was not about the opposite😊.

~~~All we need is LOVE💖