Aspiration During Major Surgery

Bones, joints and muscles
1

I had a spinal injection with sedation for a total hip replacement.  The injection, on either side of my spine was extremely uncomfortable, if not painful, and I was made to wait until the entire lower part of my body was numb.  This was a different experience to my first hip replacement when the needle went in just once and I was out until I awoke in recovery. 

I was advised by the anaesthetist that I had aspirated during surgery, but he had been able to "save" me.  The following evening I awoke feeling very queasy and summoned the nursing staff.  Several of them appeared and took me to the bathroom, where I vomited at least twice.  I was all fluid.  Then I was supported by two or three of them, back to bed, plus another, holding a papier mache bowl under my chin, and I vomited several more times -more fluids.

I am unsure whether this was a reaction to the anaesthetic or the anaesthesia, or maybe to both..

I am due to speak with the surgeon soon.  My referring GP has blanked e on this and advised that I should refer back to the surgeon.  That was about three weeks ago.

Recovery has been very difficult.  No appetite for at least three weeks and at 5 weeks post op, I am eating, but very picky.  I am weak, lethargic and depressed.  At this stage, I should be able walk reasonably long distances.  I walk around the house without sticks, but do not venture outside without them, as people would think nothing of knocking me down, one woman in particular, whom I know who assaulted me.

I am concerned about what was actually happening whilst they were obviously "pumping" out my lungs, and rushing me into exray, presumably with an exposed hip joint, or even a dislocated and sawn through femur.  Whether I was without oxygen to the brain, during this time, whether brain damage has occuurred, and so on.

Is this a matter for a solicitor and medical assessment?

Has anyone on the site had a similar experience?  

2

I'm sure you had to sign something saying you were aware of the risks? This is always a risk. 

I wish you the best recovery. Concentrate on your recovery. Worry about all this other stuff later. It's bad for your well being and recovery. 

Just my thoughts. 

3

Tallulah, are you taking any other tablets that could be giving you side effects? I think walking outside at 5 weeks without support is maybe a little too soon. I was at least 8/10 weeks before the bone was ready to take the body weight.

4

Iv logged online to make this easier let me tell you my storry and then my thoughts on your topic. 

So i mangled my hip almost ten years ago for the 7 years previous to my hip replacement i could hardly walk. I have Ankolysing spondalytis not a single person considered telling me or asking me abotu hip replacements till one really good physio was up front with me. he then got moved as apparently it wasnt his job to tell me that!  one xray later by my Rhummi and im contact with the BEST surgeon in Britain and the guy who is more or less responsible for modern European techniques.  he ends up with his own health issues my surgery is rescheduled twice i end up with the best surgeon he has trained and him on skype on the day. 

im prepped im numb and they go "oh we havnt done a pregnancy test" que attempt to p! im not sedated unconscious just slightly dopy, my choice. an hour into it i can feel my left leg im aware of everything being said im aware of a panic. my left leg is getting sore as all my weight is on it, i can move my foot  completely, they try to fill me with more drugs i become more awake (apparently i do not metabolise morphine well i end up like a bouncey ball and chatty) by an hour and a half in im aware of not the pain or feeling of the surgery but of everything thats happening im 100% aware of the saws and drills.  i get pumped full of fluid and badly need to p for the next 7 hours.  the surgery takes longer because apparently my joint was almost non existant and much smaller space than expected.  

by the time im back at recovery i can move my operated foot the top is still fairly numb but the rest of me is dopey but fully back to normal. As time goes on i am more and more aware of every ltitle detail of that surgery. 

the point to my story is.. i now stuffer very bad ptsd and anxiety and flash backs but im dealing with it slowly. i wish id got the surgery done years ago and anyone would have listened to me and by the time i did get to p i flooded the bed pan and the bed and the hottest doctor in the entire world walked around the corner to deal with me lol! I also had to face my doped out grandad going into get his hip done the day after me same hospital he told the staff he was fine because id sent him videos of my surgery (i didnt... i didnt have my phone in surgery) and had to face the panic attack of the head of surgery trying to interview me the day after surgery wilst having a panic attack because my dad turned up. i was continued to be given morphine after saying i didnt want it due to the side effects i get i continued to throw up with it talk crap and completed a thousand levels of bejewlled one night...  we also had a room of four with a lady with Alzheimers who we had to basically look after as her team said she could go home and the nurses were getting frustrated as it was putting her into a loop getting her hopes up. i also had next to me someone who was taking laxatives deliberately, picking at food being a pain in the arse talking on skype to america loudly all night and eventually pooping herslef as she couldnt acutally walk fast enough and causing the nursing staff to have to clean her every few hours.  I have a low immune system and being next to someones poop is not my plan in life lol

my point is i lost a lot of blood my surgery didnt go to plan my recovery took so much longer due to muscle changes but if someone said you can get the other one done tomorrow but it has to be the same team id jump at it. i knew the risks, im not perfect now i have issues but id fully recommend that team to anyone if i truly lost as much blood as the amount of fluid they put in me then  they saved my life and im grateful.

there is always normally a xray machine in a operating theater for making sure that the hip is in the correct place if you watch the youtube videos *you may not want to in your current mental state) youll see that most of the hip ops are guided by xray any op involving a bone or a joint is classed as a "clean room" compared to a dirty operating theatre for say anything with the gut so the likely hood is you would never have left that room but there will be notes for your op that you can see. 

I am so grateful that i have a much better quality of life now  its socially or work not greatbt i would never cause myself more stress and suffering trying to look into who was to blame for  whoever knicked the blood vessel i have a hip i can walk otherwise id be imobile, in a wheel chair or given up on life by now (im 30) 

I wasnt walking 100% unaided until almost week 12 due to my muscles everyones recovery is different, the success of every operation depends on your team but also just your body. i wouldnt be looking into going down a legal route your team saved your life but if its affecting your mental health so much you could ask them to explain the surgery more to you. 

concentrate on what your going to do when you can get out, the first few weeks can be hell trapped with yoru own thoughts and getting annoyed at progress. you have that new hip now and its a world of opportunity. a legal situation will likely intensify your depression and anxiety and it may at the end not actually make you feel any better.  

im not beinig unsympathetic i have different circumstances but i 100% understand how you feel and i am sending you all my love and if you need to talk or winge or moan or shout just private message me :-) ill be here anytime xxx

5

Hi Tallulah

As your aware major surgery and anaesthesia come with risk hence the extensive consent form I signed three weeks ago basically telling me I was at risk of death. I am a 51 year old female three weeks post op.

Your medication may be making you loose your appetite.

You should still be using your sticks in order to fully recover you need to follow all your post op instructions.

This is my second hip i had a poor appetite a different anaesthetic. Post op my pain relief was awful I was sick these are all normal.

I have a trolley zimmer for the house  and I am outside walking with my sticks.

Evertday I walk a little further.

As the other person said concentrate on your recovery see your Gp if feeling low.

It takes a year usually for anyone to recover fully from such major surgery.

Although our bodies all recover at a different pace.

Take care and I wish you a speedy recovery x 

6

No.  The aspiration was a direct consequence of the anaesthesia.  And, no, I am not taking anything that would suddenly produce such dramatic results in the middle of major surgery.  This occurred during surgery and the following evening, when the rest of it was vomited.  Not several days after when I was taking the medication that had been prescribed,such as the anti coagulants.  I am intelligent enogh to analyse what is going on, but am not medically trained, hence my research.

I have just downloaded a large medical document covering the subject and what the anaesthetists; procedures are at the time of an aspiration during major surgery.

I would not dream of walking outside without my sticks at this stage in my recovery.  I do move around the house without them.  

My former husband was an orthopaedic surgeon in San Francisco, so I do have a little knowledge, but not of anaesthesia induced aspiration.  

7

Many thanks for your feedback.  I have already posted on the responses, so no need to repeat.  My former husband as an orthopaedic surgeon in San Francisco, although he specialized in hand surgeon, and mostly professional musicians.  I wa a psychotherapist and well aware of my mental state. 

The concern is with the quality of the anaesthetist, their level of training, methods used, some of which appear to be more brutal than others, and the attitude of the professional toward his patient.  If fault is fou, and is IF, then legal remedy may be necessary.

During the course of my professional life in San Francisco, I did hear of cases of medics who violated their Hypocratic oath, and were made to pay the penalty. In some cases 15 years to life!

8

Many thanks, I have responded to two other respondents in full so no need to take this matter further.   

Repeating the overall concern is that there are good and bad professionals in all professions.  The trick is to identify them.  At this point, I do not have the full picture.  

I do not need a zimmer, and walk around the house independently,  Use stick only when walking outside for obvious reasons  I would need to have a hole in my head to do otherwise!  

Of course, I have consulted with my GP.  We spoke for an entire hour, due to the complications during and after the surgery.  I heal very rapidly and am very strong, and otherwise fit.  

Many thanks for your response.

9

Hey I don't want this to sound harsh so don't take it as such but I feel this site is great at giving support when needed but it's not a legal site or a legal advice site. It's made up mostly of other people who have been through the same or similar experiences

If in your experience you feel you have been mistreated then speak to a lawyer and the medical team about your concerns.

Your original post didn't give me any indication that you had the experience or that you wanted very specific legal advice or I wouldn't have spent an hour typing my reply it took me a lot of mental stress to admit what is been through to anyone let alone the web.

I'm not sure a forum like this is going to get into the legal details of a case with you but they will support you mentally if wanted.

Best of luck

10

I have found this site very useful and supportive for all who have had total hip replacements.

There is no room for sarcasm or cheek therefore I am going to remove myself and recover at my own leisure.

Good luck to everyone 

11

Hi Anne. Don't remove yourself from a supportive network because of 1 person. 

That person is very bitter and angry. Has had several posts going on about this surgery. I think, as hipster has advised, she needs legal help. Not us. 

I'm sad she had a bad experience but getting annoyed at her grouchy responses to some of us. 

Stay with us Anne. Ignore her. 

12

I totally agree, if anyone truly believes that have a medical negligence claim they should do it on a site specially for that, this forum is for supporting one another to understand the after effects of hip (orthopaedic) surgery, if it was me and I was thinking I had been treated negligently I wouldn't be asking us I would be getting it in writing from the NHS or US health authority what exactly went on,

In UK they would not remove you from the theatre to take X-ray, they would rush op and put you in UC

13

Hi there Tellulah, just a thought but have you considered. That you may have a bone infection as the joint was exposed for so long during ol the commotion?? 

Yours symptoms of lethargy, no appetite and pain when walking are all the signs I had before I was diagnosed with a joint infection following my THR surgery.

Perhaps you should have your CRP (infection markers)levels checked by your GP just to be sure.

Suzie

14

Hi Tallulah

Sorry to see you are continuing to have a slow recovery following your surgery.

I worked as a Bank Nursing Assistant in an orthopaedic theatre in a Hampshire Hospital over 5 years ago. There are x-ray machines in the theatre, or at least on the department, so they would not of taken you from the room during the operation. It has to be as sterile as possible in there, so the x-ray machine would have to have come in and be covered with sterile plastic before going near you. Any exposure to contamination while undergoing bone surgery puts the patient at extreme risk of infection. I hope this might put your mind at ease somewhat and I hope you get satisfactory answers from the surgeon.

15

I am wondering how you had fluid in your stomach at the time of your operation, how long did they get you to fast for?