Bad Doctor

In the beginning of my Lymphoma Journey, I had a Bad Doctor. The most excellent Dr. V referred us to a surgeon to have a port-a-cath placement with ultrasound guidance and an underarm lymph node dissection for biopsy. Both procedures were done at the same time in an outpatient surgical center. I went straight from the surgical center's recovery room to the hospital for my first chemo.

It did not occur to me at the time to wonder why I wasn't having those procedures done at the hospital, since I was going there anyway.

 

 

The day after the surgery, my underarm surgical wound was draining at lot of lymph fluid. It was soaking the very thick bandages the nurses were applying and soaking my bedclothes and bedding. A nurse said the wound was not completely closed and reported it to Dr. V, who called Bad Doctor to come see about it.

 

About 8:30 PM, Bad Doctor came into my room, late, acting furtive and sneaky. He looked very unkempt and smelled bad. I'm pretty sure he had been drinking. He did not wash his hands even after I pointed out the hand sanitizer and gloves.

 

First thing, he starting scolding me for "telling everyone in the hospital" that he hadn't sutured my surgical wound. I promptly told him I didn't say anything to anyone, that I was sick in bed and couldn't even see it!

 

He had brought a stapler, a suture removal tray, and steri-strips with him. He said he could staple the wound but that the fluid would get backed up and I would get a swelling the size of a baseball under my arm! He was putting pressure on me to tell him what I wanted him to do.

 

My husband was down the hall, in the lounge, making family phone calls. I picked up my phone and told Bad Doctor I wanted my husband. Bad Doctor starting yelling at me!! He said he didn't have time to wait for my husband to get there as he only had 5 minutes and his wife was waiting in the car. Again, I snapped back at him, "He's in the hospital"! I have never had a doctor be so rude to me.

 

I buzzed the nurse and asked her to locate my husband. I think they both ran to my room. And surprise, Bad Doctor suddenly became Mr. Nice Guy when my husband walked in. My husband, the nurse, and I unanimously decided to send Bad Doctor away.  He left the room muttering something about God's will. Indeed. 

 

Was Bad Doctor really going to remove stitches and staple my surgical wound, in his allocated 5 minutes, there in my room, without sterilization or anesthesia of any kind, without even washing his hands??  Probably so.

 

I learned later that Bad Doctor does not have any affiliation or surgical privileges at the hospital! So that is why I had the surgery elsewhere.

 

 

And this was not the end of dealing with the after-effects of Bad Doctor's shoddy and nasty work.