Just want to know what % of medical doctors make mistakes, knowingly or unknowingly.
2006-07-21 10:05:23 · 5 answers · asked by You may be right 7 in Health ➔ Other - Health
my sister in law was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer. her doctor (who was supposed to be 'the best' in the area...she even went as far as to drive from her home in southern orange county, ca to beverly hills on a regular basis to have appointments and tests and stuff) told her she would need surgery to remove the cancerous thyroid (thyroidectomy). she went into surgery and the thyroid was sent to the lab for a biopsy. there was no evidence of cancer ANYWHERE in the thyroid. basically, she went through surgery (has 2 young kids at home, so she was down for a while), went through all the pain, all the hassle of driving/tests/taking time off work, etc., and now has to be on thyroid medication for the rest of her life....all because she was misdiagnosed.
as a nurse, i cant say i have never seen a misdiagnosis. the other week for example, i had a patient come to my ICU after brain surgery (removing a blood clot in the head). she was in ICU with me for about a week, making slow but steady progress. on her 8th day, she started getting confused, was weaker than she had been, was exhibiting some odd behaviors, and began complaining of dizziness when we sat her up, and also started vomiting. i immediately thought she was bleeding again in her head. the doctor said, no - it was probably all the movement, lack of food, perhaps constipation (she hadnt had a bowel movement in a few days). but i got a CT scan ordered anyways just to be safe. sure enough, there was a new bleed....and she went back to surgery.
doctors are great- they are well trained, smart, knowledgeable, and usually pretty spot on with diagnoses. but they are human and make mistakes just like everyone else. so it is bound to happen that a doctor will miss a diagnosis.
2006-07-21 10:14:34 · answer #1 · answered by stascia 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes I was misdiagnosed twice when I had gall stones. The first time the doctor said it was probably gas (an ER doctor) and the second time (another ER doctor) said it may be an ulcer. Finally on the third trip to the ER because I was in such serious pain, they discovered the problem. (turns out the severe pain was pancreatitis because my gall stones went so long undetected because of these other two quacks) Because of these misdiagnosises I was left with a damaged liver and pancreas.
2006-07-21 10:17:16 · answer #2 · answered by real_sweetheart_76 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh yea, the first time I seen a new doctor, he looked through my records fast that said I had chronic back pain...and he wrote in my chart that I had degenerative disc diseases...I looked at my chart when stepped out...He didn't even examine me...I changed doctors.
2006-07-21 10:14:44 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no but i think my doctor sucks and he never wants to give medicine
2006-07-21 10:13:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I hope not
2006-07-21 10:08:17 · answer #5 · answered by Jen S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋