Topic: Must get port from hospital when removed...HOW??
hshbmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9478
posted
1. I need to obtain ownership of the port from the hospital after it's removed. This is NOT standard procedure, but I NEED this for evidence in court.
2. I need the surgeon to take photos of anything abnormal or unexpected when the port is removed, such as broken sutures, or a keloid.
3. I need the surgeon to biopsy any abnormal tissue around the port. There is fibrous tissue under the skin over the port. It may be a continuation of the keloid that's taken over the scar where the port was placed.
4. I need the surgeon to authorize in-hospital observation after the port is removed, after all anesthesia is worn off.
Wisdom teeth removal was in December 2008. The pain escalated after the anesthesia wore off due to global neuropathy. The oral surgeon authorized observation and hospitalization after surgery.
The spike in pain required IV morphine after the anesthesia wore off. If we'd not been in the hospital, it would have been a miserable late night trip to the ER, and who knows how that would have gone.
Any suggestions on how to convince the hospital to give me the port? I need to have it opened to look for damage. The home health nurse used excessive force to access the needle, which bent the beveled end of the needle into a fish hook. This person had inadequate training in port care.
I need an autopsy done on this port. WHO should open the port to verify any damage? Do you do it yourself and video the process? Do you send it somewhere?
Posts: 1672 | From AL/WV/OH | Registered: Jun 2006
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
Well that is a tough one.
Sorry you had sooooooooo much trouble.
This sounds so legal.. and so involved... may I suggest an attorney?
Also... you might want to contact your state Attorney general. They have a division for faulty products... and maybe they can advise you?
Sorry off the top of my head I can't come up with more.. but that is where I would start.
merrygirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12041
posted
could you send it to the manufacturer to be looked at?
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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hshbmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9478
posted
Right now the attorney only wants to see our medical documentation, but the port comes out Tuesday after Easter. I've got to have a plan in place and will have to have the hospital's OK before I can retrieve the port.
The manufacturer will not look at it. They want nothing to do with a lawsuit or potential law suit.
The easiest way to look inside this thing will be to go through the rubber septum. This is a sealed device and won't be easy to take apart.
I'd like to have an independent third party do the evaluation.
Posts: 1672 | From AL/WV/OH | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
With all the faulty/rejected ports that I've had removed in the last year or so, I've learned that it's up to the surgical team and depends on hospital protocol when it comes to obtaining the device upon removal. They gave me my first, and have not been able to give me any of the others. Some because the doctor won't allow it, and others because they needed to be sent off for biopsy.
Do you think the port was faulty, or that the nurse somehow damaged it? I've had a lot of experience with ports in the 2 years that I've had one/many and it's always easiest to go to the surgeon/interventional radiologist directly and ask for info.
-------------------- Sometimes when I say �Oh, I�m fine� I want someone to look me in the eyes & say �tell the truth�
hshbmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9478
posted
AP, the port was not faulty.
The port is composed of titanium. The home health nurse may have scratched or pitted the metal at the back of the port when she pushed the needle too hard...in an attempt to force the needle deeper into the port, so the part parallel to the skin would to sit flat against the skin. The nurse was convinced the needle shouldn't be above the skin at all.
When it was time to deaccess the needle wouldn't come out and attempting to remove the needle caused great pain. On the third attempt the needle tore through the diaphragm of the port, but lodged in the skin causing excruciating pain...we had to manipulate the needle in an arc to dislodge it from the skin.
The area around the port has been in intense pain since that time. The entire chest wall has been inflamed. We've tried numbing cream, lidocaine patches, and oral anti-inflammatory medication.
I've talked to several healthcare professionals about this situation. No one has ever heard of this happening.
I've never had a keloid before this. Now there appears to be one engulfing the scar over the port. The scar is shiny and red with lots of new blood vessels. The doctor said there is also fibrous tissue in the skin over the port. The physician also noticed the port is sitting sideways. It's been sitting that way since the bent needle was removed. It feels like it's sitting on a bone or a nerve. It can be pushed down flat and normal, but is painful to do so. The port goes back cock-eyed when you let go of it.
Trauma can cause a keloid to form. There are no other keloids anywhere else....neither of the other two sites were traumatized. The surgeon attempted to place the catheter on the opposite side, but was unable to do so because of the anatomy. That small scar is there, and the scar where the catheter was finally placed.
The port was placed July 3, 2008. It was used less than a month! The last needle was placed July 31. It was removed Aug. 2. There shouldn't be any scratches on the back of the port, unless the last needle insertion scratched it. It was not difficult to access the needle prior to the last access.
Posts: 1672 | From AL/WV/OH | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
I know that in order to make sure the needle is fully in the port, many nurses and hospitals will gently push the needle in until they feel the back of the port... I would imagine (and just confirmed by looking at my old port) that a few scratches would be acquired over time.
I've definitely had my fair share of incompetent nurses when it comes to the life of all of my chest ports. They don't help... I've had a "hooked" needle pulled straight out. I honestly don't envy you.
I would speak more with my doctor if I were you... S/he should be able to help you with this.
As far as the port moving, they can naturally do that. I've had them flip back and forth, rubbing the inside of the scar to the point where I honestly believed it would open had I not had the port replaced. When they went to revise it, the surgeon got really inventive and did not have to actually replace the port.
I know I'm not much help, but I know how these legal and medical things can go... I also know that ports can be a pain in the rear at times.
Best of luck!!!
-------------------- Sometimes when I say �Oh, I�m fine� I want someone to look me in the eyes & say �tell the truth�
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