Tpoppa Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 So, I had surgery on my "completely torn" distal bicep tendon on Tuesday. The orthopedic surgeon saw in the MRI that the tendon was completely torn from the bone, which will never heal on it's own and can only be repaired surgically. When I came out of anesthesia the surgeon tells me they opened up my arm but didn't fix anything and closed me back up. It turned out the tendon that was "completely torn from the bone" was just fine and completely attached how it is supposed to be. Basically the surgeon misread the MRI and cut me open for no reason. The surgeon tells my "maybe" I tore some internal tendon fibers but he couldn't find them during surgery. Now my arm is still messed up pretty bad. I only have about 20% strength in my bicep. So, either the surgeon missed something or it's a severe strain that will heal without surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 So they aren't going to charge you for that are they? I would be livid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted September 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 4 minutes ago, Bad324 said: So they aren't going to charge you for that are they? I would be livid I'm sure they will. If they didn't they'd basically be admitting to making a mistake, which a hospital will never do for legal reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaDoc Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Good news at at least, this is why asked about previous injury or some kinda autoimmune ds history etc. it's hard for full tear without a very significant trauma. Anyways it's good news hope to see you soon on the streets 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted September 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 13 minutes ago, NinjaDoc said: Good news at at least, this is why asked about previous injury or some kinda autoimmune ds history etc. it's hard for full tear without a very significant trauma. Anyways it's good news hope to see you soon on the streets If it turns out it's a severe strain that can heal with rehab that would be good news. But, there's also potential that I need to have another surgery in the near future to fix this. I can't say I'm too happy about being opened up due to a misread MRI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaCinci Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 (edited) Oh snap, that sucks. Now you not only have to deal with the original injury but the extras that come with being cut open. Not sure how a Dr could completely misread an MRI that badly. A completely torn ligament/tendon should be easy to spot to the trained eye...I can see if it was only partially torn maybe. The last few times I had MRI's the technicians at the MRI place interpreted the MRI and sent the images and their diagnoses to the Dr and then the Dr also read and interpreted it so at least 2 sets of eyes looked at it. He's probably shitting himself right now expecting a lawsuit. Edited September 8, 2016 by ScubaCinci 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAC Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Don't know the insurance situation but the insurer may have some recourse. You might at least get your out of pocket expenses paid. Don't hold your breath though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 5 hours ago, Tpoppa said: If it turns out it's a severe strain that can heal with rehab that would be good news. But, there's also potential that I need to have another surgery in the near future to fix this. I can't say I'm too happy about being opened up due to a misread MRI That does suck, but they could have just charged you for the surgery and then not said anything... as as far as mistakes go, this seems pretty reasonable. I mean, have another doc do an MRI and see what they say, but maybe it's as honest of a mistake as one can make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted September 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 35 minutes ago, redkow97 said: That does suck, but they could have just charged you for the surgery and then not said anything... as as far as mistakes go, this seems pretty reasonable. I mean, have another doc do an MRI and see what they say, but maybe it's as honest of a mistake as one can make. OOC, how does misreading an MRI seem reasonable? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted September 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 (edited) Maybe they'll do better next time Edited September 8, 2016 by Tpoppa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaf Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 That's malpractice. Good luck Tony. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted September 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 1 hour ago, jschaf said: That's malpractice. Good luck Tony. I'm not usually one to lawyer up, but I this case I have some concerns about how my injury was diagnosed. I have a follow-up appointment tomorrow. I have many questions for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted September 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonyblaze Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Prior to my current career I was an x-ray tech for a short period and that is the craziest thing I've ever heard. Mis-reading the size and location of something complex like a tumor or a bleed is pretty common. Thinking no tear is a full release tear which results in totally unwarranted surgery? Wow. The very minimal thing I would do is get another doctor and not let that one ever touch me again.Even if the Radiologist made the mistake and not the doctor he had to see the scan and had some idea. On a lighter note happy the injury wasn't as bad as you thought. Some good rehab and you might be golden. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaf Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 21 hours ago, Tpoppa said: I'm not usually one to lawyer up, but I this case I have some concerns about how my injury was diagnosed. I have a follow-up appointment tomorrow. I have many questions for them. I've never sued anyone in my life but I might consider it if I were in your shoes. Seems a doctor's negligence put you at higher risk for things like mersa infection & anesthesia complications, etc. You'll most likely luck out with that sort of thing & hopefully this guy won't keep doing this type of thing to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruit Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 I'd go online and look for examples of MRI images showing a normal tending versus the injury they thought you had. Now compare your own MRI image with those two. Doe sit look like an difficult call to make 100%? In some injuries it is very clear (ACL is either a thick black band or a wispy white "cloud".) In other injuries it may be very difficult to tell (MCL appears to be hair-thin on the MRI, so an injury can be very difficult to be sure about). Show your MRI to other orthos and see if they feel the Dx was negligent or difficult to call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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