imlesa
04-03-2007, 08:34 PM
HUGE problem here...long story short, A Dr. did a PICC line to help an infection in 2004. We just found out last week from a Xray that the wire to guide the line in the blood vein was left or broken in his blood vein near his lung/heart. It's 7 inches long.
A surgen will attempt to remove it next week (not the DR who put it there) its been in my now 8-almost 9 yr old son for just over 3 years.
I'm looking for someone that has had this problem with a DR leaving or breaking off the PICC line guide wire in the blood vein.
Is it safe to remove it after 3 1/2 years? Should I leave it in him? What are the risks either way? Whats your story?
Should I SUE that dang DR for not measuring and dub checking his "things" b4 & after the attempt (which didnt work!! He ended up putting a regular IV in after making hamburger out of my sons arms & chest.)
Thanx for any and all help!
Loving mother
A surgen will attempt to remove it next week (not the DR who put it there) its been in my now 8-almost 9 yr old son for just over 3 years.
I'm looking for someone that has had this problem with a DR leaving or breaking off the PICC line guide wire in the blood vein.
Is it safe to remove it after 3 1/2 years? Should I leave it in him? What are the risks either way? Whats your story?
Should I SUE that dang DR for not measuring and dub checking his "things" b4 & after the attempt (which didnt work!! He ended up putting a regular IV in after making hamburger out of my sons arms & chest.)
Thanx for any and all help!
Loving mother
Sponsor
slsmith1122
04-03-2007, 10:02 PM
i saw that happen in an icu one time, however, the RN pulled it out after a week. I tried to report it, but was told to keep quite. So yes, i would say you would get a settlement.
feelbad
04-04-2007, 01:28 PM
Make certain to document everything and obtain copies of all things related to the actual insertion(placement) if the picc.what this doc did was indeed pretty sick and possible malpractice.my son had a picc line for two weeks for a CMV virus he ended up with post liver transplant.the interventional rad who placed this picc in my son did a great job with no problems in removal.it sounds to me like the intrventional rad who worked on your son very obviously didn;t know what in gods name he was doing.this isn't a huge procedure,really.
If i were you,i would actually contact the attorney BEFORE this is removed just so he can make certain that everything this new doc does is well documented.was this area where the line now is actually the place where he ended up inserting the line or did that guide wire actually migrate to this area eventually just over time?either way,this DOES need to be removed,or it could possibly start forming clots,and that could cause him a whole set of new problems.he should possibly already be on some sort of a blood thinning type med right now.i don't want to scare you,but you really DO need to speak with the doc who is planning on removing this about just the clot risks and anything that he may want your son to do right now.there is just something about metal and blood together that can create clotting issues,it all depends mostly on what was used and where it is.i know myself,i am forever going to be on baby aspirin now,just because of having the metal coils inside my brain.this is just something you really do need to find out for your sons overall best health,thats all.
the only reason i knowabout the clot risks with something in your artery or veins is that i have had platnum coils placed inside a brain aneurysm in the past and was told about the risk factors.this could possibily be different if this is actually in a vein and not part of the bigger higher pressure circulation,but at the very least,you DO need to know if there are any major risk factors for your child til this is actually taken out.any really experienced interventional radiologist/cardiologist should not have a huge problem in retrieving the wire,really.just call that rads office and speak with his nurse,believe me,they know ALOT about these things since they are the ones who answer all questions and set up the actual procedures.i was very lucky to have one of the best rads working on my brain aneurysm.please keep us posted as to what happens next.i wish you all the luck in the world with your son.FB
If i were you,i would actually contact the attorney BEFORE this is removed just so he can make certain that everything this new doc does is well documented.was this area where the line now is actually the place where he ended up inserting the line or did that guide wire actually migrate to this area eventually just over time?either way,this DOES need to be removed,or it could possibly start forming clots,and that could cause him a whole set of new problems.he should possibly already be on some sort of a blood thinning type med right now.i don't want to scare you,but you really DO need to speak with the doc who is planning on removing this about just the clot risks and anything that he may want your son to do right now.there is just something about metal and blood together that can create clotting issues,it all depends mostly on what was used and where it is.i know myself,i am forever going to be on baby aspirin now,just because of having the metal coils inside my brain.this is just something you really do need to find out for your sons overall best health,thats all.
the only reason i knowabout the clot risks with something in your artery or veins is that i have had platnum coils placed inside a brain aneurysm in the past and was told about the risk factors.this could possibily be different if this is actually in a vein and not part of the bigger higher pressure circulation,but at the very least,you DO need to know if there are any major risk factors for your child til this is actually taken out.any really experienced interventional radiologist/cardiologist should not have a huge problem in retrieving the wire,really.just call that rads office and speak with his nurse,believe me,they know ALOT about these things since they are the ones who answer all questions and set up the actual procedures.i was very lucky to have one of the best rads working on my brain aneurysm.please keep us posted as to what happens next.i wish you all the luck in the world with your son.FB
imlesa
04-13-2007, 12:41 AM
Update...
My son had the surgery this week. The Dr went in the groin area in both legs to do the attempt. He grabbed the wire and tugged on it (gently). The wire broke again but he was able to get out 2 inches of the 7 inches that was left in him 3 years ago.
The Dr was very good at telling us just what he was going to do and even gave us the before and after x-ray copies. A VERY good Dr and he did his best. He worked on our son for little over 2 hours.
All the Dr's and nurses and just shocked that this guide wire for the PICC line was left and not noticed missing.
The Dr did let me and my husband look and feel the wire (that was in a sealed bag) It truly looks and feels like a wire. It was flexible but wire!!!!
The Dr said it would be best for now to leave the other 5 inches in him because it's imbedded in the blood vein now because it's been in there for so long. Our son will be on blood thinners forever now so he doesn’t get blood clots.
Our son is doing great for the most part. His legs are bruised up and tender from the surgery. What a strong kid. He's been threw so much!!
If you or you know of a story somewhat like this one I would love to hear from you. What was left in you? Are you okay now?
And yes we did check into a lawyer. Everyone agrees, this is malpractice!!
A loving mother!!!
My son had the surgery this week. The Dr went in the groin area in both legs to do the attempt. He grabbed the wire and tugged on it (gently). The wire broke again but he was able to get out 2 inches of the 7 inches that was left in him 3 years ago.
The Dr was very good at telling us just what he was going to do and even gave us the before and after x-ray copies. A VERY good Dr and he did his best. He worked on our son for little over 2 hours.
All the Dr's and nurses and just shocked that this guide wire for the PICC line was left and not noticed missing.
The Dr did let me and my husband look and feel the wire (that was in a sealed bag) It truly looks and feels like a wire. It was flexible but wire!!!!
The Dr said it would be best for now to leave the other 5 inches in him because it's imbedded in the blood vein now because it's been in there for so long. Our son will be on blood thinners forever now so he doesn’t get blood clots.
Our son is doing great for the most part. His legs are bruised up and tender from the surgery. What a strong kid. He's been threw so much!!
If you or you know of a story somewhat like this one I would love to hear from you. What was left in you? Are you okay now?
And yes we did check into a lawyer. Everyone agrees, this is malpractice!!
A loving mother!!!
feelbad
04-13-2007, 09:24 AM
well,you made my day,really.i was actually wondering who the heck did his removal?i see you are from MN.I was lucky to have one of the best,thru st paul radiology.doc madison.he really IS tops in his field.he is the trouble shooter IR that other IRs call in when they have a problem.He now runs the interventional neuroradiology center at st joes hosp in st paul.i am glad they now have him on blood thinners too.did this other doc never tell you about that risk once they confirmed he had left this in?i am assuming its just baby aspirin?if so,just make certain it is the enteric coated type as it can be very hard on his stomach.at least they were able to take care of the more emergent risks for him.the other docs,wow.i am glad you sought out an attorney.this IS malpractice for sure.inexcusable really.thats just plain negligence and was probably way out of the 'placers' level of training.thats the key here really.i wish you lots of luck with this and please keep me posted on how things are going,K?take care,FB
duzford
04-13-2007, 10:36 AM
Make sure you tell his school that he is on blood thinners, especially during PE. A simple scrape of the knee may require more care for him that a regular person. (That came out wrong - I don't mean to imply your son is not regular but you know what I mean.)
feelbad
04-14-2007, 10:47 AM
Actually the very best thing you can do for him is obtain a medic alert tag that has that Takes aspirin"engraved on the back of it along with 'see wallet' he should be carrying this just for this reason,not that he is out and about at age 5 making money he needs a wallet for,but you do need to write up a tiny little bit of history RE that wire being inside him,it doesn't have to be much.just the highlights and then have it laminated and placed in this wallet.that way you have the aspirin covered on the alert along with the prompt to see what is written up in his wallet.we have had to do this for our son ever since he had a liver transplant.his tag just states "see wallet".and all of his really important medical stuff is there along with the tons of meds he has to take.this just is something ,like my son,he will have to adjust to.luckily,they adapt to certain things really well when they are still children.But you DO need at the very least,a warning about that aspirin on a medic alert tag.Have you been warned about contact sports and any other types of things he will be limited on?believe me,i DO know how much that part sucks.
im just curious as to the manufacturer of the picc line and that guide wire?you DO most definitely need to find out who manufactered that thing.look in his op notes.one thing i have noticed with all my surgerys and procedures is the manufacturer of any hardware or other things is usually stated in the notes,just for this reason,or more if there is a malfunction of a product they are using.just something you also need to consider with the lawyer.i do wish you lots of luck with your son and everything else and hope things stay okay for him.please keep us posted.FB
im just curious as to the manufacturer of the picc line and that guide wire?you DO most definitely need to find out who manufactered that thing.look in his op notes.one thing i have noticed with all my surgerys and procedures is the manufacturer of any hardware or other things is usually stated in the notes,just for this reason,or more if there is a malfunction of a product they are using.just something you also need to consider with the lawyer.i do wish you lots of luck with your son and everything else and hope things stay okay for him.please keep us posted.FB