my DR killed someone?!

ok im kinda worried.. i KNOW i shouldnt have done this but i went to the OH memorial page and i found this about this women Bev: 11/13/01 I run a local support group in the Philadelphia. Beverly was a member. She had surgery with Dr. Matthew Kirkland (not Dr. James Colberg - he would not perform surgery on her) at Pennsylvania Hospital. She went home with a tracheotomy in place. She died just a few hours after she returned home. Her family refused an autopsy, it is assumed that she threw a blood clot. now i KNOW that all drs have problems but is this more or less the drs fault? i have VERY thin blood *like i touch my nose and it bleeds* and im SOO worried somethings going to happen. i dont know if i want this dr anymore HELP AND CALM ME DOWN PLEASE!!! -Erin

I don't think that you can make a judgement about a doctor based on a posting to a memorial page. You have NO way to know the cir****tances of this person's health before surgery. Sometimes a surgeon will operate on a very sick person in a last ditch effort to save their life. Sometimes it doesn't work. If you are in this much fear, talk to your surgeon. Go to the patient forum and privately email as many of his patients as you can and ask them about their experiences with the doctor. Don't ask on a message board. They are more likely to be honest with you this way.

yeah ill email people.. thanks for the advise and i agree after i thought about it

blood clots are a potential hazard after any surgery that is why patients are put on blood thinners and are asked to get up and walk as much as possible. anti-embolism stockings are used as well as decompressors that are put on your legs that inflate and deflate like a blood pressure cuff. every precaution is taken it's just that unfortunately it does'nt work for everyone it is not the doctors nor the patients fault it's just something that happens. good luck with your decision but have your doctor explain blood clots to you and it can happen with any surgeon. i had to reply since you live near me. dorothy

i love living near people. thanks for the info on the blood clots... i know they use the stocking things and walking is a MUST!! cya!!

Unfortunately blood clots are a risk and your surgeon usually does all he/she can do to prevent them (i.e. pressure socks, blood thinning drugs), but in the end, it's up to fate. You can help yourself by getting up and moving as soon as possible after surgery. We had surgery (my husband and I) in the morning and they had us up in ICU that night moving around. Just move as much as possible and keep your pressure socks on when you're not up. As for your surgeon, the bigger concern would be suture leaks. If he/she has had anyone become sick or die because of that, think twice! Take care, Denise