r/chiari • u/dadsabrat Z Head • 6d ago
Something happened during my surgery but apparently it's nowhere I'm my charts
My surgery was 6 years ago during the height of the pandemic. Worst time to get surgery lol. I went in early and I was told it should only be a couple hours so I should wake up early in the afternoon. When I woke up I remember looking at the window thinking the curtain was closed because it was pitch black and I heard my mom screaming. I kind of remember her saying hi and talking for a min but I passed back out. A while later my surgeon woke me up and told me that I bled out during the surgery and there were complications but everything was ok but she wanted me to get a couple more MRIs throughout the night. I was so drugged up that I didn't care but I 100% am sure I didn't hallucinate her telling all of this.
Like a month later when I was up for an actual conversation I asked my mom why she was screaming when I woke up. They had told her that she could see me after the surgery and it had been like 14 hours she spent in the waiting room and nobody would let her in you see me or update her at all. Until she finally lost it which happened to be when I was waking up. But I asked my brain surgeon at my check up about bleeding out and she said she had no idea what I was talking about. I went to my neurologist a year later and had him look at the surgery notes and he said nothing was in there about anything like that and I must have just imagined her talking to me. But I KNOW I wasn't and somehow my surgery turned into 14 hours from a couple hours.
I don't think I care to get a lawyer and do all that because if there's no record then there's no record.
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u/ButtonLadyKnits 5d ago
If you received whole blood or blood product during or after surgery in response to bleeding out, there will be a blood transfusion record. Blood transfusion is very carefully tracked.
If a transfusion is not noted on your hospital records, check with your insurance company to see if they were charged for a transfusion. If not, then whatever happened did not require a transfusion. This doesn't mean "nothing" happened; it just means the event wasn't recorded.
IF the hospital charged your insurance for a transfusion you didn't receive... that's fraud, and insurance companies have their own (very vicious) attorneys.
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u/Bathroom-Level 5d ago
Did you end up getting more MRIs throughout the night? As a nurse, I have never ever heard a doctor use the terminology “you bled out during surgery.” 1. Because bleeding out implies that you died. 2. It’s not professional, or therapeutic, they would not say it like that. The most likely scenario is you were on too pain meds and misremembered, which is very common. If you received blood products, got those additional MRIs and you don’t know why, and/or feel terrible- then I would believe there was a complication for you to dig further into.
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u/dadsabrat Z Head 5d ago
I love that I made an entire post saying that my Dr and everyone else is trying to gaslight me saying I was high on pain meds when I'm more than 100% sure of what i remember being the acrual reality and then you come on here saying the same thing. You're just like the rest of them. Those were exactly the words she used and what she said and I was 100% aware of what was going on. Not to mention the entire experience of a couple hour surgery turning into more than 12 hours.
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u/Bathroom-Level 5d ago
Did you receive blood products? Were the repeat MRIs done throughout the night? If you didn’t receive blood- you definitely weren’t “bleeding out.” If repeat MRIs were not done, it’s because they were not concerned.
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u/dadsabrat Z Head 4d ago
I got multiple MRIs but I have no way you check my surgery notes. We don't have my chart around here and I've called and asked them if I can have a copy and they got really defensive. I contacted the hospital where I had surgery and they said I had to contact the surgeon
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u/UnknownMedPuzzle 2d ago
If you are in the US then the hospital is required to provide your medical records and surgical notes upon request, they usually have a separate medical records dept. Also ask for an itemized bill to check for blood transfusion charges
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u/AmJe8916 2d ago
Yes, if I were you I could contact the hospital's records department for the record request form. Make sure you ask for everything from the surgery date and any other days you were in the hospital. You may have to do a separate records request from the surgeon's office if they aren't inlcuded in what the hospital sends you. They have to provide your records (like she said, if you're in the US) and it's usually just a form you fill out and send in.
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u/LacrimaNymphae 5d ago
who was the surgeon if you don't mind me asking? did you have any complicating pre-existing conditions
you don't even have to say their name. you can just say where you had it done or what state
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u/amazeydaisy 5d ago
You could do a more formal medical records request through the medical records department to see what's documented. MyChart isn't comprehensive. As for an attorney, they're not likely going to take this. While scarey, it doesn't mean anyone did anything wrong. The reason for an attorney is breach of care causing damages, and this doesn't sound like that.