My question involves medical malpractice in the state of: Georgia
Hi, all. Please be kind. I realize how crazy this sounds. I'm a 60-yr old woman who had a small (originally 1/4 ") dermatofibroma removed from my leg on Feb. 10. It was done at a dermatology clinic where it was supposed to have been completely removed last Nov. It wasn't. Instead, a tiny 'punch' biopsy was taken from the center. Yes, we asked (several times, including when making the appt on the phone, & during the procedure with the doctor) that it be completely removed. The doctor stated that she was removing it & then sending it for a biopsy. She didn't. We saw that when we took the bandage off the next day. The bump was a bit smaller, but still there.
The office called a few days later saying the biopsy had come back showing what it was, but that it had 'spindle cells', so it required total excision. I was told that it COULD become cancerous, maybe, at some time. Not that it was actually "precancerous", but... Naturally, that led to some back-&-forth about the entire matter having been done incorrectly in the 1st place, & so on & so forth.
My husband had been forced into retirement, so we weren't sure we would even have insurance after Nov, which is one reason we insisted they take the bump off then. The other one was that, even though that dermatologist as well as my G.P. could see that the bump was benign, I had had breast cancer 16 years ago (small, non-invasive, lumpectomy, clean & clear since), & simply didn't want to mess around with any growths. If they were going to do a biopsy anyway on such a tiny bump, we couldn't see why they wouldn't just take the entire thing off.
I was never upset about it. I never got angry. I simply told the nurse who called that I expected to be able to come back in & have it removed correctly, at no charge. In the next few months they set up 2 appts. for me (one in Jan., one on Feb. 2). I showed up for both. On both occasions they came up with reasons why they could not perform the surgery, and on the 2nd occasion the nurse had a "chat" with me about it, "explaining" all the many, many reasons I was wrong (which I had the presence of mind, for some reason, to record on my phone.) She was livid with me & treated me like I was being hysterical. Nevertheless, I calmly but insistently told her what I wanted & she eventually caved in, agreeing to set up the surgery for the 10th. She raved about the wonderful surgeon they had who would be performing the tiny excision, how happy I'd be with the results, etc. I thought, "big deal. it's like an eighth of an inch now, who cares?" Never once did we think there would be any further problem. It was an insignificant procedure. It just wasn't that big of a deal.
So... all that said... none of the above is the actual problem I'm writing about.
On the 10th I went in for the surgery. On that day, in the exam room, I was told by the surgeon who breezed in (barely telling me his name, no name badge on, never even looking at my face) that I had cancer on my leg. He proceeded on, calling it cancer throughout the next hour and a half. I could tell you all the other things that went on (like them not allowing my husband back in the room with me) but I want to keep this as short as possible.
Now, after all is said & done, they cut (at the least) a chunk 2" x 1.5" out of my leg, & I have a nasty scar & dent. So what, right? But, not only that, it became badly infected & the foot on that side has been icy cold (even in comparison with the other foot) ever since. I developed a rash over the entire leg & it swelled up, Finally went to a different dermatologist who simply shook his head & said, "This should never have happened. I wouldn't have allowed this to happen to my wife." He put me on Cipro for the infection, which caused some other kind of thrush infection in my mouth & nose.
The surgeon was not a doctor after all. He was a PA. The bump was not cancer after all. It was benign. Completely benign. Not even pre-precancerous.
So, the PA called to tell us the "good news, it's not cancer" 2 days after the surgery, then lied about having ever said it was cancer. I reminded him that I had taken a short video clip of him drawing a diagram (so I could show it to my mysteriously absent husband) in which he clearly called it cancer. He has been back-peddling ever since, & now the entire office staff appears to be lying and covering their tracks. That, also, would be too long to explain here.
I also took a few other photos, so we do have some proof. Quite a bit, actually. We have also been tape-recording the phone calls with that office since then, and all the many many lies, which have changed several times. I have a string of emails from the office manager in which he refuses to give me my records. They did give us the pathology reports, but the 1st page of the 2nd one is conspicuously missing. (They are numbered.)
On the 2nd pathology report, the sample received by the lab is smaller than the scar I now have on my leg by over 100%. Why? Why would he not send in the entire specimen? We can prove all of this so very easily, not only with photographs, but with the actual scar itself, which is 1.5 cm longer than the specimen that was sent in, even though he puckered up the skin when stitching it tightly together.
He took at least 2 photos of my leg, but I only saw him taking one (during the surgery). He took it with his phone, never asking me if it was OK. My husband asked me (after the fact) "did he change his gloves?" No. He didn't. I asked for a copy of that one photo, & was told I was mistaken, he had only taken one before the surgery, with the ink markings on it. They refused to send the digital photo. Instead we were given a print on plain paper.
It just so happens that I, too, took a photo of the ink markings before the surgery. Guess what? They photoshopped theirs. It's not only quite a bit smaller, but they put it back on the leg in the picture upside down. We can prove it.
So, what do ya'll think of this?
That is not all. There is much much more. Including lies on the surgery report. However, I really didn't want this to be even this long. I'm just curious as to what you think. I was thinking that I was being paranoid until I saw that photoshopped picture. Now, what can I think?
Is this beyond malpractice? Like, doesn't this cross some kind of criminal boundary?
Thanks.
Hi, all. Please be kind. I realize how crazy this sounds. I'm a 60-yr old woman who had a small (originally 1/4 ") dermatofibroma removed from my leg on Feb. 10. It was done at a dermatology clinic where it was supposed to have been completely removed last Nov. It wasn't. Instead, a tiny 'punch' biopsy was taken from the center. Yes, we asked (several times, including when making the appt on the phone, & during the procedure with the doctor) that it be completely removed. The doctor stated that she was removing it & then sending it for a biopsy. She didn't. We saw that when we took the bandage off the next day. The bump was a bit smaller, but still there.
The office called a few days later saying the biopsy had come back showing what it was, but that it had 'spindle cells', so it required total excision. I was told that it COULD become cancerous, maybe, at some time. Not that it was actually "precancerous", but... Naturally, that led to some back-&-forth about the entire matter having been done incorrectly in the 1st place, & so on & so forth.
My husband had been forced into retirement, so we weren't sure we would even have insurance after Nov, which is one reason we insisted they take the bump off then. The other one was that, even though that dermatologist as well as my G.P. could see that the bump was benign, I had had breast cancer 16 years ago (small, non-invasive, lumpectomy, clean & clear since), & simply didn't want to mess around with any growths. If they were going to do a biopsy anyway on such a tiny bump, we couldn't see why they wouldn't just take the entire thing off.
I was never upset about it. I never got angry. I simply told the nurse who called that I expected to be able to come back in & have it removed correctly, at no charge. In the next few months they set up 2 appts. for me (one in Jan., one on Feb. 2). I showed up for both. On both occasions they came up with reasons why they could not perform the surgery, and on the 2nd occasion the nurse had a "chat" with me about it, "explaining" all the many, many reasons I was wrong (which I had the presence of mind, for some reason, to record on my phone.) She was livid with me & treated me like I was being hysterical. Nevertheless, I calmly but insistently told her what I wanted & she eventually caved in, agreeing to set up the surgery for the 10th. She raved about the wonderful surgeon they had who would be performing the tiny excision, how happy I'd be with the results, etc. I thought, "big deal. it's like an eighth of an inch now, who cares?" Never once did we think there would be any further problem. It was an insignificant procedure. It just wasn't that big of a deal.
So... all that said... none of the above is the actual problem I'm writing about.
On the 10th I went in for the surgery. On that day, in the exam room, I was told by the surgeon who breezed in (barely telling me his name, no name badge on, never even looking at my face) that I had cancer on my leg. He proceeded on, calling it cancer throughout the next hour and a half. I could tell you all the other things that went on (like them not allowing my husband back in the room with me) but I want to keep this as short as possible.
Now, after all is said & done, they cut (at the least) a chunk 2" x 1.5" out of my leg, & I have a nasty scar & dent. So what, right? But, not only that, it became badly infected & the foot on that side has been icy cold (even in comparison with the other foot) ever since. I developed a rash over the entire leg & it swelled up, Finally went to a different dermatologist who simply shook his head & said, "This should never have happened. I wouldn't have allowed this to happen to my wife." He put me on Cipro for the infection, which caused some other kind of thrush infection in my mouth & nose.
The surgeon was not a doctor after all. He was a PA. The bump was not cancer after all. It was benign. Completely benign. Not even pre-precancerous.
So, the PA called to tell us the "good news, it's not cancer" 2 days after the surgery, then lied about having ever said it was cancer. I reminded him that I had taken a short video clip of him drawing a diagram (so I could show it to my mysteriously absent husband) in which he clearly called it cancer. He has been back-peddling ever since, & now the entire office staff appears to be lying and covering their tracks. That, also, would be too long to explain here.
I also took a few other photos, so we do have some proof. Quite a bit, actually. We have also been tape-recording the phone calls with that office since then, and all the many many lies, which have changed several times. I have a string of emails from the office manager in which he refuses to give me my records. They did give us the pathology reports, but the 1st page of the 2nd one is conspicuously missing. (They are numbered.)
On the 2nd pathology report, the sample received by the lab is smaller than the scar I now have on my leg by over 100%. Why? Why would he not send in the entire specimen? We can prove all of this so very easily, not only with photographs, but with the actual scar itself, which is 1.5 cm longer than the specimen that was sent in, even though he puckered up the skin when stitching it tightly together.
He took at least 2 photos of my leg, but I only saw him taking one (during the surgery). He took it with his phone, never asking me if it was OK. My husband asked me (after the fact) "did he change his gloves?" No. He didn't. I asked for a copy of that one photo, & was told I was mistaken, he had only taken one before the surgery, with the ink markings on it. They refused to send the digital photo. Instead we were given a print on plain paper.
It just so happens that I, too, took a photo of the ink markings before the surgery. Guess what? They photoshopped theirs. It's not only quite a bit smaller, but they put it back on the leg in the picture upside down. We can prove it.
So, what do ya'll think of this?
That is not all. There is much much more. Including lies on the surgery report. However, I really didn't want this to be even this long. I'm just curious as to what you think. I was thinking that I was being paranoid until I saw that photoshopped picture. Now, what can I think?
Is this beyond malpractice? Like, doesn't this cross some kind of criminal boundary?
Thanks.
Medical Malpractice: We Now Think (Know) This Was Deliberate
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