Knee replacement infection....

[04 commemorative]

A friend in Conn. had knee replacement 5 years ago ! He just got out of the hospital last week after 3 weeks in there on IV antibiotics and needs to be on a drip at home for a year !
I heard yesterday that the doctors told him there might have been something "left behind" at time of surgery
I told him that I have never sued anyone but in this case......he could own that hospital and get enough $$ to become Emperor !

5 years that infection must have been cooking !

[6spdC6]

Originally Posted by 04 commemorative

A friend in Conn. had knee replacement 5 years ago ! He just got out of the hospital last week after 3 weeks in there on IV antibiotics and needs to be on a drip at home for a year !
I heard yesterday that the doctors told him there might have been something "left behind" at time of surgery
I told him that I have never sued anyone but in this case......he could own that hospital and get enough $$ to become Emperor !

5 years that infection must have been cooking !

I had a knee replaced 5 years ago. I by doctors orders have to take 4 prescription antibiotic pills a hour before dental work is done. I do not fully understand it but it has something to do with the metal in the new knee acting up with ingested particles like normal dental cleaning will produce.

[Rodnok1]

Originally Posted by 6spdC6

I had a knee replaced 5 years ago. I by doctors orders have to take 4 prescription antibiotic pills a hour before dental work is done. I do not fully understand it but it has something to do with the metal in the new knee acting up with ingested particles like normal dental cleaning will produce.

Interesting... Never heard of that.

A year of antibiotics would suck... Talk about a bad infection and must be some underlying health issues also.

[Frankie the Fink]

Don't count on winning a law suit for a procedure performed 1/2 decade ago....
I can tell you from my own experience that the "big boy" FL law firms don't even want to touch an accident case over 1 year old. It takes many times the effort tracking down old records, maybe lost witnesses over the years, maybe some issue in the years since the surgery are a factor. Might be tough to establish a "smoking gun".

Not saying this fella shouldn't pursue a legitimate claim but he shouldn't be shocked if nobody wants to play.

[Frankie the Fink]

Originally Posted by Rodnok1

Interesting... Never heard of that.

A year of antibiotics would suck... Talk about a bad infection and must be some underlying health issues also.

Yup - wife goes through the same thing with dental work...its a real precaution... And I also do not understand it.

[zsr22]

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

Don't count on winning a law suit for a procedure performed 1/2 decade ago....
I can tell you from my own experience that the "big boy" FL law firms don't even want to touch an accident case over 1 year old. It takes many times the effort tracking down old records, maybe lost witnesses over the years, maybe some issue in the years since the surgery are a factor. Might be tough to establish a "smoking gun".

Not saying this fella shouldn't pursue a legitimate claim but he shouldn't be shocked if nobody wants to play.

On to option B then. Kidnap and hold the doctor's family for ransom.

[Rodnok1]

Originally Posted by zsr22

On to option B then. Kidnap and hold the doctor's family for ransom.

I'm more an eye for an eye person...

[jw38]

I contracted an osteomyelitis infection in my spine after spinal fusion surgery (C6-C7) in November 2015. It was caused when the surgeon cut my esophagus during the surgery and bacteria entered the area around my spine. The infection caused the bones in my upper spine to decompose and I had to undergo emergency surgery to repair the damage that was done to my spine. I was on IV antibiotics for 6 months through a PIC line in my left arm. I took antibiotics through the PIC line twice a day. It most certainly wasn't fun. The outcome of the surgery is shown in my avatar. My spine is now fused from C2 to T2, and it's supported by titanium rods and screws. No lawyer would bring suit against the neurosurgeon because "accidents during surgery happen".

Unless they can find that something was left behind in the OP's friend's knee, I dout he has any legal recourse, especially since so much time has elapsed since the surgery.

[Stevedore]

An acquaintance had a knee replacement a few years back, & spent the following year fighting an infection, which eventually led to amputation of his leg.

I'm a candidate for knee replacements, but have some concerns about it. I had a stroke in May, and was told no non-emergency surgery for 9-12 months, so the stroke bought me some time to think about it.

[Egnalf]

Unlikely to win any lawsuits, but he should be thankful it wasnt worse at least. In 2009, I lost my best friend to an infection gained during back surgery. He had surgery in early December, we buried him in may.

[ZipZap]

I had a hip redone very young. Too much idiocy when younger.

The infection thing is by far the biggest threat any time they expose bone, especially when introducing foreign hardware. The reason is that an infection in the bone is almost untreatable because you can't easily expose it to any remedies. It can continue festering and spewing crap periodically into your body to keep you ill ad nauseam. The only attack is typically keeping your body filled with strong antibiotics and hope your body can outlast it and survive the side affects.

As far as dental procedures, the worry is that any time you purposely cross the blood/air line, there's a chance for infection at the site. Blood flow may eventually take the bacteria to an area with previous trauma, like a joint replacement, and can wreak havoc. Instead, they have you take a few amoxicillin and that pretty much kills anything in your blood for the next few days if bacteria happens to get in through the dentistry.

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by Egnalf

Unlikely to win any lawsuits, but he should be thankful it wasnt worse at least. In 2009, I lost my best friend to an infection gained during back surgery. He had surgery in early December, we buried him in may.

Anybody who's had surgery in the last ten years signed an infection risk waiver...

Sorry about your friend. This is what scares me about hospitals in general. Dirty freaking places.