25 days in hospital...need advice!

[concernedwife99 1]

My husband had the sleeve on October 7th and today makes the 25th day (non consecutive) that he has been hospitalized for extreme nausea and a low grade fever. He had 2 leaks but both have healed (now has a stent) but the nausea, cramping, and fever persist. His surgeon told us that he has no idea why he has a fever or why he is so nauseous but when I asked him if we needed to ask someone else their opinion, he told me there was no one else besides him. I complained to the charge nurse and hospital admins who all told me that "surgeons don't share," and that if we tried to take him to a different hospital, they would transport him back to the original surgeon and this would tick him off. We feel completely hopeless and trapped. I need advice about what our rights are.

Can we force a doctor to refer us to someone else or can they truly just drop us and leave us out in the cold if we don't stay with them? My husband is getting weaker and weaker and has developed all kinds of other complications since being hospitalized (C Diff, afib, stroke like symptoms one night, anxiety, and high blood pressure). We are no closer to answers than we were a month ago. Can anyone tell me what we can do to get someone to listen to us???

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[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,443]

surgeon told us that he has no idea why he has a fever or why he is so nauseous but when I asked him if we needed to ask someone else their opinion, he told me there was no one else besides him

There are a number of BP members who work in the medical field. I'm not one of them and I hope you hear from them with solid advice. Here's the best I can offer:

Have various lab tests and imaging been done? Has your husband seen his primary doctor for input when not in-hospital.? Has he contacted his medical plan for referral and/or advocacy? It may be that he needs to see someone in a specialty other than surgery, e.g., gastroenterology.

Unless you live in a small town near Nowhere [will you name your town and state?], I don't see why the surgeon would have said there is no one else, certainly since he also says he has "no idea,,," The response is unacceptable given that the problems persist. As a non-medical person, I know that fever likely indicates infection. Getting a second opinion certainly would be wise and within your husband's right.

If you want to find a medical advocate to lighten the load for you, try googling "find a medical advocate." Several things come up, including info at AARP's site, Oprah.com, Consumer Reports. I can't speak for their usefulness, but they are there to be explored if you wish.

[rolosmom7 740]

You should definitely be able to get a 2nd opinion. That's crazy they're telling you that. It might be a situation where you just have to put your foot down and be an @$$ just to get what your husband needs. There are people here in the medical field as stated above, hopefully they have some insight. I hope they find answers for you - best wishes.

[concernedwife99 1]

surgeon told us that he has no idea why he has a fever or why he is so nauseous but when I asked him if we needed to ask someone else their opinion, he told me there was no one else besides him

There are a number of BP members who work in the medical field. I'm not one of them and I hope you hear from them with solid advice. Here's the best I can offer:

Have various lab tests and imaging been done? Has your husband seen his primary doctor for input when not in-hospital.? Has he contacted his medical plan for referral and/or advocacy? It may be that he needs to see someone in a specialty other than surgery, e.g., gastroenterology.

Unless you live in a small town near Nowhere [will you name your town and state?], I don't see why the surgeon would have said there is no one else, certainly since he also says he has "no idea,,," The response is unacceptable given that the problems persist. As a non-medical person, I know that fever likely indicates infection. Getting a second opinion certainly would be wise and within your husband's right.

If you want to find a medical advocate to lighten the load for you, try googling "find a medical advocate." Several things come up, including info at AARP's site, Oprah.com, Consumer Reports. I can't speak for their usefulness, but they are there to be explored if you wish.

The reason he said he is the only one is because he is the only bariatric surgeon in this hospital. But, there are 3 other bariatric surgeons in the same city who do the sleeve but he won't call them. He wants to stay in his own network. He said we can get a second opinion but the nurses told us that us just calling another surgeon's office will get us no where. We need HIM to make the referral.

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[rolosmom7 740]

surgeon told us that he has no idea why he has a fever or why he is so nauseous but when I asked him if we needed to ask someone else their opinion, he told me there was no one else besides him

There are a number of BP members who work in the medical field. I'm not one of them and I hope you hear from them with solid advice. Here's the best I can offer:

Have various lab tests and imaging been done? Has your husband seen his primary doctor for input when not in-hospital.? Has he contacted his medical plan for referral and/or advocacy? It may be that he needs to see someone in a specialty other than surgery, e.g., gastroenterology.

Unless you live in a small town near Nowhere [will you name your town and state?], I don't see why the surgeon would have said there is no one else, certainly since he also says he has "no idea,,," The response is unacceptable given that the problems persist. As a non-medical person, I know that fever likely indicates infection. Getting a second opinion certainly would be wise and within your husband's right.

If you want to find a medical advocate to lighten the load for you, try googling "find a medical advocate." Several things come up, including info at AARP's site, Oprah.com, Consumer Reports. I can't speak for their usefulness, but they are there to be explored if you wish.

The reason he said he is the only one is because he is the only bariatric surgeon in this hospital. But, there are 3 other bariatric surgeons in the same city who do the sleeve but he won't call them. He wants to stay in his own network. He said we can get a second opinion but the nurses told us that us just calling another surgeon's office will get us no where. We need HIM to make the referral.

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I would call them anyway. Explain to them the situation and see what they say - the nurse may be right or may be wrong. I recommend calling for yourself.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,443]

The reason he said he is the only one is because he is the only bariatric surgeon in this hospital. But, there are 3 other bariatric surgeons in the same city who do the sleeve but he won't call them. He wants to stay in his own network. He said we can get a second opinion but the nurses told us that us just calling another surgeon's office will get us no where. We need HIM to make the referral.

I think I managed to sort out one "he" from the other.

I don't know if it needs to be a bariatric surgeon. It is a good idea, but there are other specialties that can refer for lab work and radiology if your husband's surgeon hasn't in the past few weeks. Ask the surgeon for a referral elsewhere, "Something's wrong. I'd like a second opinion because I don't accept a life of nausea and fever."

As @@rolosmom7 wrote, call anyway. The nurses probably are accurate -- when it suits medical practitioners, they are tougher than any union worker -- but don't just sit back and take their word for it. We're talking about something as simple as a few phone calls.

You and your husband are talking about his health. You're not the ones who should be feeling timid or intimidated.

[busybeebug 415]

You have the right to get a 2nd 3rd 4th opinion. Go to a different hospital if he has to go again. A lot of times they can help recommend a doctor. You could see if a GI doctor can look at him. Maybe it's something triggered by the surgery. I'm sorry he is going through all these complications

[Aggiemae 739]

Get a second opinion from a GI specialists asap. Go to a different hospital if your insurance allows it. Does your hospital have a PATIENT ADVOCATE? Call administration and ask for help.

[rubia72 200]

Has his primary care doctor been over to see him at the hospital. I mean I don't understand. My primary care doctor referred me to my surgeon and said that she'd go to him if she needed to and when my blood pressure dropped after surgery she took care of me.

[JupiterinVirgo 846]

Tell them you're seriously considering suing the hospital for malpractice as well as the surgeon involved. That'll light a fire under their ass real quick. They are trying to disempower you because they messed up. Don't fall for it! You are the customer. They work for you.

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[kschultz007 6]

This would never happen in the hospital I work for. 1) if we can't fix it we find someone who can !

2) as a patient you have rights! Request a transfer to another hospital. They can't refuse ! ( if the hospital is full you may have to wait )

3) that is not a nurses job. Who cares if you piss off the surgeon , he's not helping you !

4) ask to speak with The House supervisor( they can help you )

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[jaynamy3 122]

SORRY LONG POST:

Make the quickest appt with a credible lawyer you can. A letter from a lawyer can do wonders!!!! I agree he "possibly" could have made a HUGE mistake somewhere along the line with this surgery and it's being covered up in my opinion. Like I said, my opinion.

I work at a hospital too and our patients are flown out for less! A good surgeon does what he can for patients to help their quality of life .... But a GREAT surgeon knows what to do after something goes wrong even if it means calling another hospital for help. After all surgeons are surgeons to help people!!!

You can take him anywhere you want with out any explanation and have a right to his medical records also to take with you. You may be paying out of network benefits unless you/someone can prove medical negligence! Then they may pay you! No amount of money owed in the world is worth his life! I'd file bankruptcy before I let money come in between me and my family as I'm sure you probably would as well.

Like I said, I feel something's up with this particular hospital (doctor mainly not hospital as a whole) that even nurses may not know ... I also second calling your insurance company nurse line.

The surgeon I work for accidentally nicked a patients bowel one day and owned up to it all. He would never let a patient not know what happened even though I'm sure he possibly could have got away with it. There could be more to your husbands story.

After all, NONE of us want your husband to get any worse. Praying for you all!

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Edited November 23, 2016 by jaynamy3

[theantichick 2,204]

I advise involving an attorney as an absolute last resort while he's still in the hospital. There are 1,000 ways the staff can make life harder for you all if it becomes known that you're threatening a lawsuit. Lawsuits are about money after the fact, and take a long time to work through the system. You don't need that while you're still dealing with the health concerns.

As others have said, there should be a patient advocate in the hospital. If not, contact the chief nursing officer and the chief medical officer (administrative offices for both). Or the chaplain's office, they often handle patient advocacy issues if there's no designated advocacy person. There should also be an ethics board at the hospital.

Unfortunately, your nursing staff are not able to do anything, this is something that has to be dealt with within the physician level. They should have already involved another GI doc - doesn't have to be a bariatric specialist, once the surgery is done any competent gastro should be able to help figure out what's going on. You should also have an infectious disease specialist on the team at this point since he's had c.diff as well as an intensivist.

Others are right that it would be hard to transfer him elsewhere, you'd have to get a doctor at the receiving hospital to accept him as a patient. The only other way I know of to force a hospital transfer is to check out AMA (against medical advice) and then go to the county hospital's ER, or if you have good insurance a different hospital that's in network. But then you're playing roulette with what doc you'll get at the new place.

I would start with a patient advocate, and escalate to the chief nursing and medical officers and see what you can get done before getting an attorney or threatening a lawsuit.

[JodiT140 34]

I agree with kschultz007! That nurse should be fired!

I work at a hospital too and we would never do this to our patients.

Do you have a case manager with your insurance? They can guide you through the referral process to ensure your covered.

I wish you the best of luck and don't stop pushing until you get some answers and proper care!

[theantichick 2,204]

I agree with kschultz007! That nurse should be fired!

I work at a hospital too and we would never do this to our patients.

Do you have a case manager with your insurance? They can guide you through the referral process to ensure your covered.

I wish you the best of luck and don't stop pushing until you get some answers and proper care!

Um, really? The nurse has absolutely no influence on the physician, and very little with the administration. While she may be wrong, she is sharing her experience in that facility. I agree that she should offer some ideas such as contacting the patient advocate or the CNO, but firing her? Really? As a nurse, I don't excuse poor behavior, but firing over this? I don't think so.