About a month ago I went in to have a small spot frozen off my arm. Dr. Diane looked at my other arm and said, “That’s got to come off too, and it’s going to require surgery.”
So I made the appointment and had
the surgery (in office – not a big deal) but the results were melanoma. Not really serious, it is called “in situ” which basically means it is confined to the upper layer of skin and is easily removed. No chemo or anything is required, just follow-up visits every 3 months for awhile.The next call she tells me there were no “clean margins” so she has to re-do the surgery and take more off. While I am glad to be getting the melanoma cells removed from my body, I can’t help but think in the back of my mind, ah-ha another billing for Medicare!!
I think we have all heard stories about people who say they were awake during surgery and felt the whole thing. The trouble is, they were unable to move or speak to tell the doctor they were aware. I pretty much viewed such stories with a grain of salt. Now I’m not so sure.
Today was my second surgery. It is an in-office procedure with local anesthetic. She injected the numbing medicine and set to work. A little slice and then “
OUCH”!!! She was cutting where it was NOT NUMB!!! She injected some more but I could still feel some slight pain at the one end of the incision as she finished her surgery and stitched it up. That part might have been mental for all I know.I understand that a doctor may not alwa
ys get the medicine in the right place but for crying out loud – even a dentist will poke around and make sure you are numb before they begin to work. What would have been so hard for her to poke a little before cutting to make sure I was numb? Oh sure, I’ll survive and I’m not scarred for life or anything but it was certainly not pleasant. Let me tell you, if she didn’t get it all this time, I will be finding another surgeon if a third cut is needed!!
Okay, rant over, I will go sit in the back yard and watch the nature channel for awhile and chill out. Thanks for listening, I feel better now LOL!!
I can well understand. Daughter had major surgery yesterday. She has difficulty with coming out of anesthesia. Due to the procedures she had to undergo, there could be NO movement. We had to put our full faith in the person doing the anesthesia. Your doctor should have made sure before cutting!
ReplyDeletePhyllis I sure hope your daughter is doing better today. It's always scary to go under general anesthesia.
DeleteHoping for good results so you don't have to face that again anytime soon. Sorry you had to go through that! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteIn the times I've had that done they have always checked the margins before I left the office so could leave knowing the job had been done. Hope the margins are clear this time.
ReplyDeleteI too thought they would check the margins before you left the first time. Oh well, glad she called you back to get it all!
ReplyDeleteThat is MOHS surgery, where they do a frozen section right there and do more if needed. Apparently this doctor is not trained in that procedure. It takes specialized certification for that. If only I had known....
DeleteThat's what Jim had to have removed from his back. And his office had to wait for the results of the margin area also. But his doctor is the "aggressive" kind (that's probably not the right word) and took a large area the first time so he was pretty sure he wouldn't have to do it again. And he didn't. But I can't imagine having them cut on me when I could feel it. I would have probably come straight off the table. Hopefully they got everything this time.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about the melanoma, Donna, and about the painful removal. I hope you will be free of painful medical procedures, at least for the time being.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the ugly experience. Hope everything works out in your favor.
ReplyDeletePrayers going up.
Sharon
Donna, several years ago I had the "deep cut" when 3 little blurbs of melanoma occurred on my left arm. I never felt a thing. Better to get it done than mess with melanoma. Mine hadn't spread...I got in just as soon as I saw them bubble to the surface (fortunately)...
ReplyDeleteYou can rant all you want. I think I can say with confidence that most of us have been in your situation.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you got it taken care of.
O.K., Donna, time to "Woman Up"!! Just kidding - most surgeons are actually well trained butchers!
ReplyDeleteThe main thing is to get rid of everything and let's hope this time the Doctor did it right.
Next time, bring your own knives!
Best to rant and get it out of your system! Life is too short for such frustrations. Horrible for you to feel anything with that surgery.
ReplyDeleteNot really what I consider a rant, more of an account of whst happened. A rant would have been how you were treated at the jail after you were arrested for punching her in the nose.
ReplyDeleteOnce the family doctor told my dad this is going to hurt, my dad told him well then how about i hold your -# (male parts) and we'll see if it hurts
Sorry u had to go thru such carelessness! Hope and pray all is taken care of now...but I'm with u in that if u should ever have to do anymore, another surgeon is in order. You should NEVER have felt that! Will keep u in my prayers that she got it all this time and the worst is over.
ReplyDeleteYou have every right to be upset. I agree, a dentist would be more careful to make sure you were numb. I, too, would look for a new Dr.
ReplyDeleteGood rant is probably better than a good cry:)
ReplyDeleteWell, yes, one expects a certain degree of TOTAL deadness when ANY surgery is performed and if not, then they are to correct that error, right now!!! One would think you would jerk or something and ruin what they were trying to do, right?
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that you had to go through all that, and hope that everything is taken care of so you won't have any later occurrences. Ouch! :-(
ReplyDeletehope that the 'rant' made you feel a bit better..glad that it was removed in the early stages! One can only hope you won't have to go through this again!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others... rant on! But of course I'm just glad you had it taken care of before it progressed.
ReplyDeleteThink about changing doctors? Maybe ? Ouch!!
ReplyDeleteJim had Mohs on his arm a few months ago. He thought they would take a small cut, check the margins, possibly take a little more, etc. But they took off a huge area the first time. Got it all but left a large scar. He felt like insurance was billed for Mohs when it should have just been removal of a skin cancer and a biopsy. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteGlad you're feeling better now!
Sadly I can relate...and for me it cost pure $$ since I was paying out-of-pocket. I got a mole removed on my back for $500 and had to go back for ANOTHER removal (same mole...another $500) after the surgeon failed to remove it properly first time. It really irked me that it was not done properly the first time.
ReplyDeleteNina
Donna I'm so sorry to hear about this. I agree with you though. If they call you back again, I'd say No Thank you, and set out to find another surgeon.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly deserve your rant. First of all, she should have checked that she got it all the first time and then to not check if you were numb!!! Inexcusable! thank heaven you could object.
ReplyDeleteDonna, you sure do have to get something like that out of your system, and you did it well. Our dermatologist is great, but we sure don't like it when she has to freeze something off. For me (Jerry) it happens fairly regularly on my forehead or temple. Ouch!! for sure. Not so bad freezing on the arm, but bad enuf!
ReplyDeleteOuch! I wonder what rank she was in medical school.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with using your blog to rant ... it's your voice, after all. Sorry that you had to go in for a second time. Hopefully second time was the charm and you won't have to go back again.
ReplyDeleteRanting is good. Glad you're ok. Im not too crazy about going to any doctor for anything.
ReplyDeleteOwww! You deserved a rant. I'm happy you're okay though. I've had a couple skin cancer surgeries on my forehead but they always managed to numb it. Oww! Still wincing thinking about your experience!
ReplyDeleteCandy
I had a similar instance last year while I was working in the Reno area. I was only going to be there a few weeks so did the scraping method and will return this fall. It is difficult for us fulltimers to have to go back several times to a Dr. unless you remain in the area.
ReplyDeleteI do not like Dentists
ReplyDeleteDonna, my daughter happened to be sitting right here when I read your post (trying to catch up). She is an anesthesist. I just recounted your story to her, then she read it. She said there is no question that you should have been given more local anesthesia. In the event that didn't work, you should have been sedated.
ReplyDeleteI remember the days of horror at the dentist when I was a kid, but in today's world even little kids like to go to the dentist because of better pain management. I think you're perfectly right to change doctors should you need any additional surgery for anything. Yours certainly wasn't very compassionate. You can bet if it were surgery on her arm or on the arm of someone she loves, the story would be VERY different. Susan says, "Don't go back to her."