Planetfurry BBS

[Elfen_Furry]

Dont trust your HMO to let you go after surgery.

Last week my uncle had to be operated to remove 75% of his intestines to remove a very large cancer tumor that grew there. Despite it all, and the extent of the operation and what was removed, they sent him home on Friday; less than 48 hours of rest post op. Whats wrong with that?

Everything!

No checking for infection. No allowing for the stiches to close- hell- they were still wet when he got home, and they gave him pain meds and several dressing packs to change every so often!

Later in the day, while his daughters went out (30 yr old ladies...)... he got tired of how the tv was positioned, and decided to move it himself- a 37" Zenith... The big one with picture-in-picture capability years before anyone else had it. Damn tv is older than my 13 yr old niece (his granddaughter) who was there to call in case of an emergency.

My mother and I decided to check up on him, and the grand daughter openned the door. Thats when we saw it happen; his stiches burst open on him and he just bled right there. Being on the pain medication, he did not feel the stiches rip, and did managed to move the tv.

Granddaughter did the whole panicked headless chicken routine. Mom, called the ambulance. I did the first aide- needing help from mom cause the pain meds were wroking too well and he needed to be restrained.

We taped him up with the dressing kits that he was given as best as we could. Police came, and we had to explain to them what happenned. They thought there was a stabbing, and with a freaked out 13 yr girl- it would be easy to decide so. EMS finally came and took him to the hospital, we all followed behind in the police car.

None of the internal stiches popped- lucky for him. But he will be in the hospital for another week, too soon for me! I think he should be there until the outside stiches fall off- 3 to 6 weeks!

Tommarrow, I'm going to yell at a few cousins, while mom cleans up the bloody mess off the tv. If it wasn't for us checking up on things- the family would be preparing for another funeral.

[Nite]

I'm glad to hear he's okay...I don't know much about post-op procedures and protocols, but dismissal less than 48 hours after an operation like that doesn't sound very practical... and this is point in case!

[AmigaDragon]

Sounds like someone should raise a big stink to the media about HMO releasing patients too soon after major surgery.

[Rabbit]

I dunno about anyone else, but I'm not entirely right in the head for 3-4 days after even minor surgery. I've never had anything really major, so that might even be worse.

[Elfen_Furry]

In the 70's/80's/mid 90's, I remember major surgery stays were 3 weeks minimum. Minor- 1 week. hell, my brother stayed in the hospital longer for having his tonsils removed in 1972 (5 days) then my uncle did for his cancer.

Furthermore, to dope him up to the point where he feels no pain? Post operative healings is painful but to let him go unsupervised, that was wrong. With his stitches still wet- that was another sign of possible infection that nobody checked.

HMO's dont care. You get the proceedure done and get out so they can pay for the minimum of services. Anything extra, unless its a frak* up on their part, comes out of your pocket. Think about it: 1 night spent sleeping at a hospital bed cost them the minimum, but if you had to pay for it, its (here in NYC) $1500 a night (the presidential suite at the NY Hilton will go for less that that!). And that does not count doctors' fees, medication, nursing care, meals... all extras. This is Assembly line medicine at its worse.

At least in cuba- though they will put you in an assembly line for surgery (literally!), you will get proper post op care!

Though I'm going to have a family meeting about this- having such meeting is worse than talking to a rock at times.