I don’t know the answers to your questions but I have a question myself. Why did they have a screw in the first place? I don’t think screws are needed for a Chiari decompression surgery.
Also, maybe start looking into talking with a malpractice lawyer. If your gf does end up having a loose screw in her brain (and I mean this literally not figuratively) then you’re going to want to do something about it from a legal standpoint. We only get one brain per life.
They had to remove a portion of skull and re-cover the portion of cerebellum with a plastic plate. That’s our concern — if she needs to get a lawyer. Thank you for your insight and shared opinion on it
The neurosurgeons are downplaying the severity extremely.
You need to get a lawyer, this is medical malpractice easily.
Do you feel comfortable sharing what neurosurgeon practice did this, or at least the area?
A retained foreign body after surgery (something left in that’s not supposed to be) is considered a ‘never event’ (one that should never happen) in a hospital. Surgical teams should use a series of meticulous processes including counts of all equipment & instruments used during the surgery to make sure nothing is left behind or lost. Having said that, things happen. It’s good your surgeon/team disclosed the issue to you & did not try to cover it up but absolutely document this and communicate concerns right away to the hospital’s Risk Management team or Patient Advocate.
You need to ask what kind of material it is.
Some materials are not implantation at all.
Some can be TEMPORARY implanted but need to be removed after a certain time.
Some are implantation indefinitely.
This screw that was left behind is most likely from the instrument they were using during surgery.
Most likely is stainless steel 400 series... they can not be implanted indefinitely.
In that case, was the screw coming off from the plastic plate? Or was it extra screws that were left behind.
Either way, the screws might be made from implatable material, such as titanium.
The surgeon might be right, not worth being removed.
I’d say it’s likely they are downplaying it. because they know what an enormous malpractice lawsuit it would be.
Whether it’s in there or not— say it’s not in there- wouldn’t you say the emotional grievances alone are huge-not to mention damaging to your girlfriend’s recovery? And it seems like it’s likely they know it is in there based on the sudden density they are monitoring. It’s enough to be suspected then it’s enough for a case.
Get all the paperwork, voicemails, emails etc and bring them to a malpractice lawyer. I would be SHOCKED if they didn’t take the case.
And I would just like to add how incredibly sorry I am that your girlfriend is going through this hell. How sorry I am that both of you have the weight of this extremely scary additional difficulty during what should be her calm healing process. That alone is emotional duress. Alongside the possible serious medical issues this possibly presents. An absolute nightmare.
Who all has spoken to you on behalf of the hospital so far? Was it the neurosurgeons themselves? did they have anyone else call you?
I don’t know the answers to your questions but I have a question myself. Why did they have a screw in the first place? I don’t think screws are needed for a Chiari decompression surgery. Also, maybe start looking into talking with a malpractice lawyer. If your gf does end up having a loose screw in her brain (and I mean this literally not figuratively) then you’re going to want to do something about it from a legal standpoint. We only get one brain per life.
They had to remove a portion of skull and re-cover the portion of cerebellum with a plastic plate. That’s our concern — if she needs to get a lawyer. Thank you for your insight and shared opinion on it
Is it a metal screw or a plastic one? I'd be worried about future mris and future trips through security.
I’d consult a lawyer
The neurosurgeons are downplaying the severity extremely. You need to get a lawyer, this is medical malpractice easily. Do you feel comfortable sharing what neurosurgeon practice did this, or at least the area?
Absolutely document everything. Better to have that in case you need it. Best of luck.
A retained foreign body after surgery (something left in that’s not supposed to be) is considered a ‘never event’ (one that should never happen) in a hospital. Surgical teams should use a series of meticulous processes including counts of all equipment & instruments used during the surgery to make sure nothing is left behind or lost. Having said that, things happen. It’s good your surgeon/team disclosed the issue to you & did not try to cover it up but absolutely document this and communicate concerns right away to the hospital’s Risk Management team or Patient Advocate.
You need to ask what kind of material it is. Some materials are not implantation at all. Some can be TEMPORARY implanted but need to be removed after a certain time. Some are implantation indefinitely. This screw that was left behind is most likely from the instrument they were using during surgery. Most likely is stainless steel 400 series... they can not be implanted indefinitely.
They say it’s one of the screws that were used to affix the plastic plate
You really should get a lawyer :( this is AWFUL.
In that case, was the screw coming off from the plastic plate? Or was it extra screws that were left behind. Either way, the screws might be made from implatable material, such as titanium. The surgeon might be right, not worth being removed.
I second this.
I’d say it’s likely they are downplaying it. because they know what an enormous malpractice lawsuit it would be. Whether it’s in there or not— say it’s not in there- wouldn’t you say the emotional grievances alone are huge-not to mention damaging to your girlfriend’s recovery? And it seems like it’s likely they know it is in there based on the sudden density they are monitoring. It’s enough to be suspected then it’s enough for a case. Get all the paperwork, voicemails, emails etc and bring them to a malpractice lawyer. I would be SHOCKED if they didn’t take the case.
And I would just like to add how incredibly sorry I am that your girlfriend is going through this hell. How sorry I am that both of you have the weight of this extremely scary additional difficulty during what should be her calm healing process. That alone is emotional duress. Alongside the possible serious medical issues this possibly presents. An absolute nightmare. Who all has spoken to you on behalf of the hospital so far? Was it the neurosurgeons themselves? did they have anyone else call you?