At Sun, 31 Jan 2010, Fern wrote:
> >It seems then That Dr. Redan is a mixed bag. Some do well and some do >not. Sorry to hear about your experience. (About Suzanne) > >-- >Fern Hill >At Wed, 27 Jan 2010, Suzanne wrote: >> >>My story actually begins just over two years ago. I had a total >>abdominal hysterectomy in July of 2007 due to a large ovarian cyst that >>was possibly cancerous. Thankfully, it was benign, but the surgeon >>perforated my intestine and didn't realize it at the time. When I >>wasn't recovering normally, was weak, and had pain up my side and around >>my back, the nurses and my family who were with me around the clock >>asked my surgeon to do some tests to determine what was wrong. He >>dismissed their concerns, stating that I was suffering from a "post-op >>ileus". Five days after the hysterectomy, it was obvious to everyone >>that I was in distress and was extremely sick. The surgeon finally did >>a CT scan and found I had a perforation. Emergency exploratory surgery >>followed, resulting in a bowel resection. I had peritonitis and was, in >>the surgeon's words, "gravely ill". I ended up with a fistula so the >>staples were ripped out and a wound vac was applied for a few weeks. >>When the wound vac was removed, the wound was left to heal open (end >>result five months later when it finally healed was an 8 by 3 inch scar >>up my abdomen). Eleven days after the second surgery I was still weak >>and sick, my body was swelling (I am on the thin side so this was quite >>obvious) and on oxygen. My surgeon was talking about discharging me at >>the end of the week and this was Wednesday! At two in the morning during >>that night, while in the care of a very astute nurse whom I credit with >>saving my life, I was rushed to the ICU in respiratory failure. They >>told my husband they didn't know if I had brain damage and they were not >>sure if I'd had a heart attack, but that my lungs had collapsed and they >>had called the Chaplain...and I was on a ventilator. My husband was in >>disbelief, obviously, and my children thought they were going to lose >>their mother. Had this surgeon monitored my albumin levels, he would >>have found them to be so low that my body was not able to process all of >>the fluids I was receiving intraveneously, and this situation could have >>easily been averted. I was in the hospital for three weeks, went home >>for a week, was still short of breath and running fevers, and was >>readmitted only to have a chest tube placed to drain more fluid from >>around my lungs for another week. All in all I've had over twenty three >>CT scans and forty chest x-rays. With each CT scan being about the >>equivalent of five hundred chest x-rays, I live in fear that one of >>these days I could be diagnosed with some form of cancer. It took me a >>full year to recover and gain back the twenty pounds I lost as I was TPN >>(no food by mouth) for five weeks and had a difficult time getting my >>appetite back. Those are just the highlights of my hospitalization; >>there were many other things that went wrong. >> >>In the past eighteen months I've been hospitalized three times (at a >>different hospital) with bowel obstructions due to adhesions from my >>abdominal surgeries. They have always resolved with decompression >>treatment in the hospital, but I was told by the surgeons that >>eventually I will likely have one that will not respond to treatment and >>will require emergency surgery. They also told me that every time I >>have a bowel obstruction, the chances of having another one increase, >>and may take longer to resolve. One of these surgeons actually told me >>that he has a patient who is hospitalized with bowel obstructions almost >>monthly. These men are highly respected surgeons in my community. Why >>could they not do something for their patients who are struggling with >>issues due to adhesions? They told me they would not perform surgery on >>me because it would only create more adhesions, so my future was looking >>grim.what a vicious cycle. I believed I had no recourse, but I couldn't >>imagine living this way the rest of my life. It was always stressful on >>my family (I have four children) to have to leave suddenly and be >>hospitalized for an unknown length of time. The psychological issues >>were difficult for me as well, with a huge scar constantly reminding me >>of my traumatic ordeal and the physical discomfort of my distended >>abdomen and my insides pushing up on my ribcage every time I sat down or >>leaned over. The prospect of living the rest of my life like this was >>depressing, to say the least. Also scary for me was the fact that I >>might end up requiring emergency surgery to repair a bowel obstruction. >>Who would perform this surgery, a surgeon on call? I had been through >>too much to allow just any surgeon to operate on me. >> >>This past summer during an appointment with my gynecologist, he >>mentioned the CAPPS program and although he didn't know the specifics of >>the program nor Dr. Redan, he knew a woman who had a successful >>experience a few years ago, and he suggested I look into it. I >>immediately went home and researched Florida Hospital at Celebration, >>Dr. Redan, and the CAPPS program. I couldn't believe I was actually >>considering having surgery again as I had lost so much faith in the >>medical community. I wondered how this surgeon could help me when no >>other surgeon I spoke with would consider me for surgery. I had a >>consultation with Dr. Redan in September of 2009 and immediately felt >>hopeful about my future. I found Dr. Redan to be not only >>compassionate and kind, but empathetic regarding the trauma I endured >>and the psychological issues that went along with it. After examining >>my abdomen, he stated that he felt he could help me, but that I was not >>a candidate for laparoscopic surgery due to the damage to my abdominal >>wall and the large scar. This was disappointing to me as I was fearful >>of open surgery after my previous experience, but already I felt that >>Dr. Redan was the surgeon who would restore my faith. He explained the >>surgical procedure that he would perform if I chose to go ahead with the >>surgery, and answered every one of my questions, making me feel as if he >>had all the time in the world to spend with me. When I left, he told me >>to call him with any further questions and encouraged my husband to call >>as well as he could not accompany me to the appointment. Leaving Dr. >>Redan's office, I felt wonderfully optimistic.finally! Dr. Redan had a >>plan for me, and his plan included a plastic surgeon to reconstruct my >>abdominal wall, repair the incisional hernia, and remove forever the >>horrific scar that prevents me from forgetting the trauma I endured. >> >>The following week I had an appointment with Dr. John Louis, the >>plastic surgeon who would work with Dr. Redan. They had discussed my >>case during the week, and Dr. Louis shared his plan for my care with >>me. Once again, I knew I was in good hands, and this meeting convinced >>me that making the decision to have this surgery was the right one for >>me. Like Dr. Redan, Dr. Louis is kind and compassionate, and spent a >>great deal of time answering all of my questions. I left his office >>with a date for my surgery! >>