Serious "?" Neck Surgery c5 c6 fussion! Why so Much pain and large scar?

Question

8 aug 06 surgery wnt well according to my wife. I never saw the doctor pre- or post op. Spent 2 nights in hospital. Doc told me that they go through the front with small oncision! He made a point to show me the large scars and said I would not have that. Well I do. He set me up a week after surgery for follow up. We did not discuse numbers but he did show me a small plate with 2 tiny holes for screws. He semed anoyd that I had written down questions from the video. Forward to the follow up - he never took off my dressing to look at the wound. He said take pain pills. I looked at the xray and was shocked to see two wires 3 plates and 6 huge screws. Now MORE THEN A MONTH, WHY SO MUCH PAIN i CANT SLEEP? FEELS LIKE A LUMP WHEN I SWALLOW AND I WAS TOLD I HAD NO SUTCHERS. YET A STRING WITH A KNOT AT THE END, AFTER 3 WEEKS WORKED IT'S WAY UP THROUGH MY SCAR. IT PULLS OUT 3/4 INCH THEN HURTS LIKE HECK BECAUSE IT FEELS ATTACHED TO SOMTHING INTERNALY. ANY QUALIFIED IDEAS? HAVING NEW DOC LOOK FRI

Answer 1

That you did not see the surgeon before or after surgery is very unusual and not standard care. That alone is a red flag, and so is misleading you about the type and size and numbers of hardware used. Also, you should not still be in severe pain more than a month later. Have you been calling the doctor about this? If so and no response, you might want to talk to a lawyer as well as getting a new doctor. If you haven't been telling him that you are having problems, you can't really blame him for not being a mindreader.

As for the sutures, that's pretty easy to explain, but again you weren't given very clear information. You had no visible sutures because the doctor closed subcutaneously (under the skin) to reduce scarring and these sutures are meant to dissolve over time. Sometimes they do work their way loose and to the surface and may not dissolve nearly as fast as they are supposed to. You should have had this seen by the doctor as well, who could have trimmed it for you. Be sure to ask the new doctor about this.

There's a lesson in this that if you are not happy with the kind of care you are getting you need to speak up and if not heard, you need to change doctors, before and after a treatment or surgery.

Also, make a list of all the things that have happened and all of your questions and concerns and take the list with you to the new doctor. It's too easy to forget things if you don't write them down. Do this for every doctor visit from now on. I say this from long experience as both a patient and a health care provider. And never, never sbe afraid to speak up when something doesn't seem right.