Surgeon forgets to remove appendix during appendectomy

[sze5003]

Carribean or not you still have to take the boards in the US and find and apply for a residency here in the US. Only thing about the carribean is you don't need the mcat and its cheaper.

Doctors from overseas have to do the same thing. My parents took the boards when they moved to the US but then they had my brother and sister and ended up getting jobs in the medical field but not as doctors although they have their MD from their country.

 

[Exterous]

How many posts did it take until this question was asked? sheesh!

The rest of us read the article where that was answered so no need to ask

Surgeon probably took something out that he thought was the appendix, but it turned out to be something else. Stupid people be outraged.

I would be highly concerned if a doctor could properly identify an organ.

 

[glenn1]

I'm pretty sure when brainhulk said "heroic measures" in terms of cardiac arrest that meant going through the entire protocol (or lack thereof) to resuscitate the patient, and the end result would either be life (stable) or death. My guess is for those of less means they go with a bit of CPR, maybe a shock or two off a defibrillator and then they call it day. Ironically, the medicare patient will probably end up being billed more.

If the medical care system hadn't already been so broken by hospitals and medical professionals constantly trying to defraud both public AND private insurance companies exactly the way you describe, this would be a non-issue.

The only non-guilty party here is the patient (in most cases).

No argument about most of your points. I'd argue that the full portfolio of "heroic measures" are fairly ridiculous and pointless anyway (especially at the extreme end), evidenced by studies saying most actual M.D.s would generally refuse them given the option. Therefore I don't have much problem saying they should almost always be "patient opt-in" and normally only available to those with the means to pay for them out of pocket.

Paying for procedures of questionable medical value seems like a very poor use of resources for those on public assistance however. Spending on oversized amount on a handful of patients to get "heroic measures" that might be 0.001% effective probably means there's no money left for hundreds of others to get routine treatment that has almost a 100% chance of being effective.

 

[HumblePie]

The rest of us read the article where that was answered so no need to ask



I would be highly concerned if a doctor could properly identify an organ.

A yellowish mass is not an accurate description of what was removed. Was is a gall bladder? spleen? Tumor-ish tissue from the small intestine? something else? I would like to know what exactly was pulled out besides the general description of the piece of flesh.

Also, as for why the doctor could have messed up, the patient could have been a backwards patient. Rare, but happens.

 

[BoberFett]

Well, you don't always get what you pay for.

But if you try sometimes you just might find, you get what you need.

 

[BoberFett]

Provide the same level of care for private insurance as you would "public" care, and this wouldn't be an issue. And last I checked hospitals were required by law to provide the same level of care regardless of the patient's ability to pay.

If Medicare isn't going to pay you as a healthcare provider for the service you provide, why provide it? Medicare reimbursement rates don't cover the cost of procedures, that part of the reason why the rest of us pay so much.

 

[BoberFett]

No argument about most of your points. I'd argue that the full portfolio of "heroic measures" are fairly ridiculous and pointless anyway (especially at the extreme end), evidenced by studies saying most actual M.D.s would generally refuse them given the option. Therefore I don't have much problem saying they should almost always be "patient opt-in" and normally only available to those with the means to pay for them out of pocket.

Paying for procedures of questionable medical value seems like a very poor use of resources for those on public assistance however. Spending on oversized amount on a handful of patients to get "heroic measures" that might be 0.001% effective probably means there's no money left for hundreds of others to get routine treatment that has almost a 100% chance of being effective.

My grandfather died after a severe car accident about 8 years ago. I went to visit him in the ICU in Jefferson City, MO and it was ridiculous what was done for him. A man in his 80s, kept alive by a room full of machines for three weeks. He was in constant pain, always doped up, barely awake. I was glad I got to see him again and hold his hand and say goodbye, but I can't say it was worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars to society that it cost to keep him alive for a few extra days.

One of the biggest problems with healthcare in the US is that we're scared of any discomfort or death, and no amount of money is too much to spend for a few more seconds alive.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Dr. Kerin earned his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1994 and completed his general surgery residency at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in Valhalla, New York.

To be fair, jersey is basically third world

 

[SunnyD]

No argument about most of your points. I'd argue that the full portfolio of "heroic measures" are fairly ridiculous and pointless anyway (especially at the extreme end), evidenced by studies saying most actual M.D.s would generally refuse them given the option. Therefore I don't have much problem saying they should almost always be "patient opt-in" and normally only available to those with the means to pay for them out of pocket.

Paying for procedures of questionable medical value seems like a very poor use of resources for those on public assistance however. Spending on oversized amount on a handful of patients to get "heroic measures" that might be 0.001% effective probably means there's no money left for hundreds of others to get routine treatment that has almost a 100% chance of being effective.

Now we're talkin'. And we're actually on the same page it seems. But I have to ask two things - spending those same oversized resources on privately insured patients, that just drives up costs all around, so that's a poor use of resources by the hospital in general no? Burning the candle at both ends just causes you to use up the candle twice as fast.

If Medicare isn't going to pay you as a healthcare provider for the service you provide, why provide it? Medicare reimbursement rates don't cover the cost of procedures, that part of the reason why the rest of us pay so much.

Private insurance doesn't pay remotely what the healthcare provider wants either. Hell, usually it doesn't even end up being what the consumer sees on the bill at that. What's that tell you about healthcare costs?

 

[BoberFett]

Private insurance doesn't pay remotely what the healthcare provider wants either. Hell, usually it doesn't even end up being what the consumer sees on the bill at that. What's that tell you about healthcare costs?

That our system is fucked, top to bottom.

But there's a difference between getting negotiated rates from private insurance that are lower than you want, and rates from Medicare that below the actual cost of service delivery.

 

[lupi]

Had no idea what one looks like and still have mine, but seems quite varied as a "normal" one can be about the size of a finger tip to as long as a finger.

 

[Mark R]

So... what DID they remove? :whiste:

There are a variety of conditions that give symptoms similar to appendicitis.

One is the presence of a diverticulum - which is a tube like out growth from the intestine. This could easily look like an appendix, especially if it has become inflamed and irritated (which would be causing symptoms).

It may not be possible to tell what it is just by looking at it. It would need microscopic analysis in the lab.

 

[Exterous]

Also, as for why the doctor could have messed up, the patient could have been a backwards patient. Rare, but happens.

Surgeon: Well, we didn't find what we were expecting so we just removed this yellowish mass instead.

Reporter: Why would you do that?

Surgeon: Well the customer paid for us to remove something form the right side of his body and we wanted to make sure he got his money's worth

:whiste: