Surgery aborted

kristasplace
kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hello! Quick recap: Diagnosed stage IIIb rectal cancer in August 07 at age 38, chemoradiation for six/seven weeks, resection surgery in January 08 with temporary loop ileostomy, then six months folfox which ended in August 08. I was scheduled to finally have the ostomy reversed last Friday. They got me in, got me prepped, and wheeled me into the OR. When i woke up, the first thing i did was reach down to feel if the bag was gone. It wasn't. I began asking why it was still there, and what had happened. There was no response.

After several hours going in and out of consiousness, i occassionally heard the doctors and nurses talking about how the surgery had to be aborted because of constriction. After the anesthesia wore off, they took me into GI, and began trying to dilate me. I could not have imagined the pain. It was so awful, i rolled over and punched the doctor in the chest. I told him he should sedate people before performing this type of procedure, but he continued on as the nurses restrained me.

Now they want to do it again!! As badly as i wanted the ileostomy reversed, i'm seriously considering leaving it as it is forever. I told them i will not get dilated again without sedation, and i can't believe they're actually questioning this. What century are we living in?? It's bad enough that no one examined me prior to surgery to check and see if i was constricted. I know they had me set up with tubes before they found out because my throat is still killing me, and i had a lot of blood coming out of my urethra. Has anyone else had to go through this where they're being treated? I mean UCSD is supposed to be in the forefront of colorectal cancer treatments. I hate to admit it, but i feel as though i've been raped, and i'm seeing the medical professionals as barbarians.

Thank you for listening!
Many hugs,
Krista

Comments

  • traci43
    traci43 Member Posts: 773 Member
    #2
    That's awful!
    Krista - I'm so sorry you went through that. You have enough to deal with without the added agony if that procedure. Did your Doctor say why you weren't sedated? There might be a mdeical reason why you have to be awake for the procedure. Still they should have told you about the procedure before they did it. Perhaps a second opinion is in order before you decide to keep the bag forever and maybe filing a complaint. Traci
  • MoonDragon
    MoonDragon Member Posts: 183
    #3
    RAWR!!!
    Oh my gosh, how awful!! I'm so sorry you had to go through all that!

    I'm sorry about my lack of knowledge but what is a constriction and dilation in the sense of an ileostomy?

    I don't blame you for punching the doctor!!

    I hope you feel better soon!

    Hugs!!
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375
    #4
    Huggggs
    Oh Krista... I'm sooo sorry you had to go through this and have never heard of such torture. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no experience with an ileostomy, so I'm not even sure how it is set up. If they couldn't reverse it while you were already under the anesthesia because of some "constriction", why could they not "dilate" or whatever it is they had to do while you were still under the anesthesia??

    I'm so sorry that I can't help you here because I'm not understanding what the procedure is, why it can't be done, or what they have to do to check it. Whatever it is... they should have at least had the common courtesy to explain to you what they now have to do and what that is going to involve!!

    Hugggggs my friend!

    Cheryl
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #5
    OMG!
    To read of such torture, while looking at your beautiful smiling avatar is just AWFUL! I don't blame you for slugging the doc; how did the nurses' faces look as they held you down? Did they give you pain meds when it was over?
    mary
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    #6
    Good Lord
    That just sounds awful! I don't know enough to offer any advice, but I'd sure like to know why they couldn't sedate you. They better have a good reason!

    *hugs*
    Gail
  • VickiCO
    VickiCO Member Posts: 917
    #7
    I am so sorry...
    that you had to endure this. Did he say why you weren't sedated? It seems rather cruel to me, after all you have been through. I'd be looking for another doctor.

    many hugs, Vicki
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #8
    THAT is AWFUL!!!!!
    I have recently heard of another such incident, at UCSD, interesting enough....

    But, there have been troubles at UCI med center, too...where I had my stuff done...they almost killed one of my patient partners with a wrong dose of morphine!!!!!

    Health care is awful. Not just in the U.S., but many, many places abroad. If you are not private pay, for instance, in Holland, you could wait MONTHS to start treatment. ..sigh...money talks....

    You are right in insisting on pain relief...but I think you should give the reversal another try...it's so much more convenient in the long run to use your own plumbing, if you can....

    Hugs, Kathi
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #9
    UCSD
    Hi Krista,

    I'm so sorry you had this bad experience and I can understand you being angry and frustrated. I do have a personal interest in your hospital, though- I didn't realize you were local in San Diego. I live in Fallbrook & get my chemo treatments in Vista, but I consult w/ an onc. (Dr. Fanta) at Moores/UCSD and I had my liver resection at UCSD, but ended up not ever having the rectal resection (tumor went away during radiation). Dr. Ramamoorthy was my colorectal surgeon who was originally supposed to do the surgery at UCSD/Thornton Hospital. Was she your surgeon? I'd be interested in more details, since I still get checked on by her. My email is lisa.didier@sbcglobal.net
    Could you please email me, if you don't mind? Thanks,
    Lisa
  • tiny one
    tiny one Member Posts: 465 Member
    #10
    I can imagine how much pain you were in. Were they dialating your stoma or anally? I don't understand why they didin't do this under sedation. What kind of answer have they given you, why they put you through this. What kind of constriction did they see? I had had my ileostomy for 5 days, I would vomit everytime I tried to eat. My surgeon had to put me under to stretch my stoma. After that I was able to eat and everything was fine.
  • kristasplace
    kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
    #11
    surgery aborted
    Thank you everyone for your concerns and replies! I guess the surgeon did try to dilate me on the table and couldn't do it. No one gave me any verbal responses when i was asking questions during the last dilation, but i do remember seeing the face of the nurse whose hand i was cutting the circulation off of, and she didn't look happy at all.

    Lisa, i am completely tripped out that you consult with Dr. Fanta! That is my oncologist, and yes, Dr. Ramamoorthy is my surgeon! We definitely should talk!

    Kathi, thank you for confiming that it's the medi-cal patients that seem to be the one's who are not getting quality of care. I have no doubt that if i was private pay, my treatment would be different in many respects. Such as getting seen for a follow up colonoscopy. It's been seven months since my treatment ended, and i haven't had one yet. My calls are not returned unless i get demanding with them, and sometimes not even then. The complacency and lack of empathy is frightening. I just hope someday i won't have to deal with it any more...that none of us have to.

    Thanks again, and many, many hugs!
    Krista
  • tiny one
    tiny one Member Posts: 465 Member
    #12
    kristasplace said:

    surgery aborted
    Thank you everyone for your concerns and replies! I guess the surgeon did try to dilate me on the table and couldn't do it. No one gave me any verbal responses when i was asking questions during the last dilation, but i do remember seeing the face of the nurse whose hand i was cutting the circulation off of, and she didn't look happy at all.

    Lisa, i am completely tripped out that you consult with Dr. Fanta! That is my oncologist, and yes, Dr. Ramamoorthy is my surgeon! We definitely should talk!

    Kathi, thank you for confiming that it's the medi-cal patients that seem to be the one's who are not getting quality of care. I have no doubt that if i was private pay, my treatment would be different in many respects. Such as getting seen for a follow up colonoscopy. It's been seven months since my treatment ended, and i haven't had one yet. My calls are not returned unless i get demanding with them, and sometimes not even then. The complacency and lack of empathy is frightening. I just hope someday i won't have to deal with it any more...that none of us have to.

    Thanks again, and many, many hugs!
    Krista

    Just wondered how you were doing. Please give us all an update.

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