O.T. Another death at Ottawa Hospital Complications from WLS

I am a very quiet person my nature *****ally prides myself in being calm.  I get so PISSED off when it comes to that.. I have dealt with and are very fond of the Weight Management Clinic in Ottawa, and the surgeon who I had.  I have put my life in their hands and had the surgery.   I am sorry Lorraine, but you are sitting on the outside throwing blaming surgeons, the Ottawa Hospital.... whoever you can with NOTHING to back it up with. You have NO idea what happened to this lady, and the facts you DO have are UNSUPPORTED.. You have rubbed me the wrong way and I am very PISSED..LEAVE IT ALONE!

Glad to hear you had a great experience with the Ottawa program.

The fact of the matter remains that there are people on this site who have had some very nasty experiences with the Ottawa program.

Dent told me if i got a DS I would die and then kicked me out of this office.  I must be a miracle patient to be alive 21 months later. There are also 15 otherr miracle patients in Ottawa.

Another who had VSG in the states was told they would not assist with her follow up and was then kicked out of the office.

Another had a major complication and was in the Ottawa hospital, they forgot to tell the patient or their family that the person had a leak.  ooooops

And let's not forget what was done to Ruth, cause that was all Dent.

No matter what happened to this person, the fact is that 3 people who were part of the Ottawa program died following surgery.  What caused the death? Maybe it was a blood clot, does the Ottawa hospital have pressure booties? Is there enough staff to make sure the patient is getting up and walking around?  Do patients get drilled into there heads the importance of walking and sipping every 2 hours ? Maybe it was related to anesthetic. Maybe they got pneumonia? Maybe they fell and hit there head on their first walk after surgery?  Maybe they got an infection? Maybe the person was too high risk? Is Ottawa doing a enough screening? We don't know, but that does not change the fact that since September when the program started 3 people who had WLS in Ottawa died because of an issue related to, or exacerbated by WLS surgery. DIED. DEAD. GONE. Someone's mother, father, daughter, son, cousin, sister, brother.  GONE FOREVER.

I am happy that your surgery was a success, does that mean that others don't have a right to talk about this issue? Does that mean that pre-ops shouldn't know what is going on in the programs that they are trusting their life with? You may not like the discussion but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be discussed. 

No one is forcing you to read this thread,

catnip

i would like to respond to this one!  First off I have NEVER met DR Dent. NEVER. 
I had the best care you could ever imagine at the Ottawa hospital and I am pretty sure you werent there to confirm it.  I did have TED stockings, which I am sure are the same as what you are talking about.  I had a wonderful bariatric nurse *****minded me to sip and walk and sit up.  I had a CT scan after surgery to check for leaks.  YOU DONT know the specifics about her death is all I am saying.. Untill you do dont go shooting your mouth off about the hospital.  You are totally bad mouthing them and its unfair!   I know someone has died and I feel sympathy, oh I feel the sympathy.  It is a discussion forum and I am discussing, NOT bad mouthing Ottawa unlike YOU!  I am not forced to read this thread, I wanted to read it.. Its some people that are so narrow minded that **** me off!!!!

FYI   Ted stockings are not the same as the mechanical booties we wore in the states.

Totally OT, but those booties made me laugh so hard... my fiancé actually video taped the event for me.   Just their motion I guess.

Most people hated them but I thought they were like personal little messager for my feet.  I loved those things hahahaha

Those booties felt cool on but i couldn't bend over enough to get them off and on myself. Made me feel kind of trapped.

Catnip

For someone who has issues with narrow-minded people you're being very....narrow-minded.

First of all glad to hear you never had to deal with Dent. He seems to think he is the Be-all and End -all of WLS in Ontario, this alone, explains why you had a positive experience at the Ottawa WLS program.

Not sure where you think I am shooting my mouth off about the hospital, What I am doing is questioning the program, wondering what happened and why it happened. And more importantly what is being done about it.  I am bringing up issues that maybe some pre-ops wouldn't think about, because they don't know. People did this when i was a pre-op and it made me realize that i needed to do more research about surgery types. I changed from wanting an RNY to getting a DS, A huge thanks to those post-ops who helped me. I am just paying it forward, you seem to want the subject closed down.....how does that help anyone? Or do you just care more about the reputation of the Ottawa program then the health of other pre-ops?

Don't you think that everyone should ask their WLS program about there complication and death rates and get a clear and honest answer? I asked my surgeon that in my consult, and so did many of my friends. 

As Kelly A. stated pressure booties are not the same as TED stocking.  Ted stockings are a much older tool then pressure booties.  Every WLS program does some sort of leak test after surgery. My surgeons does two as standard procedure. Glad you had no issues with getting only one done.   Maybe you had good care at the hospital, but do you have experience with several other WLS programs to compare you experience with? Maybe you shouldn't go shooting your mouth off ? You're assuming that you had the best care when you have no basis for comparison.

Have a happy Tuesday

catnip

That's just the thing we do care about the reputation of the Ottawa program which is why we are defending it and it's surgeons.  You see WE have experienced it and have and will continue to benefit from it.  So we know what we're talking about, I personally have asked my surgeon all of these questions and I was given the answers.  No one at this clinic pretends that this is easy or comes without risks, nor tries to cover anything up.  They try to make sure we have all the information we need to make educated decisions.  

As for leak tests here in Ottawa they do 2 before they close you up and they do a 3rd the next day.  Glad you had no issues with getting only 2 done.....

As for having a basis for comparison, what's your experience with the WL clinic and surgeons here in Ottawa?  You've spoken with them and their surgeons and know all about it??  And Dent is not the WL clinic, he's one person.  I've never even met him and I don't have to.  He's one small part of the clinic and they don't all think the same way he does.

Most of the bad experiences you're talking about are people who had to deal with Dent, again Dent is not the clinic.  That's who people have the problems with, not the clinic.  

You say you're just questioning the program and bringing up issues that pre-ops wouldn't think of??  You're spreading rumor is what your doing.  There have not been 3 deaths of people who were part of the Ottawa program.  That's just something you've picked up and have decided to pass on as truth.  

I'm not saying that the WL clinic is perfect and runs smoothly because it's not and it doesn't.  It has a long way to go but they're working on it.  They're very knowledgeable, kind and compassionate.  These are not just people who've walked in off the street, they're educated, skilled people who've come from other medical departments.

Rumors- gossip - I do know that the doctors in Ontario are taking care of many patients who had OOC surgery- patching up the mistakes of other surgeons. Some of them died.
As for leak tests- post-op ones are becoming less common as the research does not support them being effective. There are large US surgery centres that don't do leak tests post-op.
As for preventing blood clots- the research supports heparin injections- for all at high risk. Stockings are not used as much anymore.