Knee Infection* Three surgeries to clean out infection

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that way that you were treated--by a plastic surgeon of all people!!! I am sure Dr. Maale will be very excited to hear about this. You poor thing, you should have asked the plastic surgeon if he, like other doctors, also took an oath to "DO NO HARM"!! If so, he needs help, not you.
 
Praying your appointment with Dr. Maale goes well tomorrow and he’s able to ease your mind. In the meanwhile @PegGar16 had a plastic surgeon perform a flap procedure after an infection. If Peggy stops in I’m sure she can tell you about her flap.
 
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Update from Maisybo...long...
I called Dr Maale’s assistant & told her about my visit with Dr Nguyen. She said I need to come in & talk to Dr Maale about it, which I plan to do as soon as I can get in to see him.

I’ve talked to the Wound Care doctor here at the critical care hospital & he told me the wound in my knee is healing very well & looks really good; it’s already closed up at the top. The Wound Care doctor’s name is Dr Pompeo. The nurses who change my wound dressing 3 x weekly told me it looks really good & is healing well, which encourages me. Also, the Infectious Disease doctor told me Friday my blood work results look very good & my sed rate is 23, which is in the normal range for the first time in years! That encourages me, too!

Dr Maale’s social skills don’t seem to be really great; I mean no offense to him, but I feel as if the times I’ve tried to talk to him about how I feel emotionally haven’t been very successful - my questions weren’t answered & I felt frustrated & like it was my fault somehow.

Please give me some suggestions about how to succinctly present my experience with Dr Nguyen to Dr Maale to achieve the best results. I need help in being specific & stating facts instead of getting bogged down in how hurt & afraid I feel emotionally.

The hospital I’m at is in Dallas, which is 300 miles from Lufkin, my home, & where my entire family is. They can’t make the drive to see me more than once a month or less. So I’m here alone & while I can call my sisters & friends during the day to get a tiny bit of emotional support (they’re all working & don’t have a lot of time to talk to me), right now it’s 3:15 am & I feel so alone & afraid...I desperately need emotional support.

I feel exhausted physically because there’s a lady with dementia in the next room & she hollers & carries on all night & keeps me awake. I’ve asked to be moved but the staff has told me they don’t have another vacant room to move me to...it’s very frustrating.

On the flap issue...Dr Nguyen, the Plastic Surgeon who was supposed to explain it to me but instead just kept telling me I was going to lose my leg, didn’t tell me anything about what it is, how it works, etc. I know y’all have told me other members have had to get a flap & I’d like to read their experiences, but I don’t understand how to do a search on the website to locate their stories. If someone can help me figure out how to find the “flap” stories, I’d really appreciate that.

I’m fighting the urge to just lie here in this hospital bed & cry & feel hopeless, helpless & alone, so I very much need your help, suggestions & encouragement.

Thank you for your support.
Maisybo
 
I’m so glad that things are healing and looking good and that your nursing staff is encouraging.

I’m sorry you are so far from home, family and friends. I would feel very alone, too, in that situation.

Try to write your thoughts down on paper, they don’t have to be typed and printed out. Make a list, not an essay, of your concerns. Then give it to your Dr and ask him to read it, or read it to him. Tell him this is important to you. By writing a list it’s easier “to keep the emotion” out of it.

I understand how things go at a Dr appointment, we feel rushed and intimidated by the Dr.

Sending hugs and prayers for further healing and comfort. :console2:
 
Here’s a link to @PegGar16’s thread.

It's hard to be so far removed from family and those you know you can talk to. Medical staff can't fill that role, sadly. Lots of surgeons rather lack a warm and fuzzy bedside manner, perhaps because one isn't necessary when in the operating theater. That's too bad, but if the surgeon is not dismissive of your case and does excellent work, you're still in the best of hands, which I sense you're feeling.

Try focusing not on how Dr. Nguyen made you feel, but about the facts of your fear: that he made it sound like your leg was a hopeless case and needed to be amputated. Allow Dr. Maale to put your medical fears to rest: talk about the infection, what does he see happening. Ask directly about the risk of amputation. Let Dr. Maale know you will do anything necessary to avoid this. Let him know, too, that you appreciate his work and knowing he is on your side.

Everything you reported so far sounds encouraging! :friends: I hope your next visit with Dr. Maale yields more good news.
 
On the flap issue...Dr Nguyen, the Plastic Surgeon who was supposed to explain it to me but instead just kept telling me I was going to lose my leg, didn’t tell me anything about what it is, how it works, etc.
Well let me explain it to you. If you have a wound that's deepish, then it's no good doing ordinary skin grafts that are very thin and just laid on top.

They need to take a big enough chunk of skin and tissue to fill the hole. This will be left attached to its source with a 'tail' of tissue and blood vessels to maintain the blood supply. So the chunk would be rotated to lay in the wound, stitched in place round the edges and a pressure dressing applied. The sides of the graft site are then drawn together and stitched closed. It's a very successful form of skin grafting. The irregularity of the twisted part will eventually even out.

Here is an example

RF 1-vert.jpg
 
Maisybo,
((((Hugs)))), sorry that you are isolated from family and friends, being 300 miles away.
Can you ask to see the hospital Chaplin or ask to have a volunteer stop by and visit you?
Be sure to read PegGars16's thread, SusieShoes left you a link in post #105.

You explained your encounter with Dr Nguyen very well in your post. The sentence beginning "On the flap issue...
 
I am sorry to hear of your circumstances, it is difficult to be alone in a hospital, and they are not the best place to get some sleep. Bob once had a heart procedure in a room directly below where they were drilling all day. At first we were angry and then we began go giggle every time the drill came on. We were holding our sides laughing while a nurse was telling us that Bob had had a very serious surgery. As she began her lecture,the drill began drilling and we just could not stop laughing!! We both had tears running down our eyes while the nurse told us that we did not have to cry---which caused another session of giggling and laughing. I almost wet my pants,I was laughing so hard. She seemed to be able to ignore the drill, while we simply could not!!
 
I've read thru your journey and am sending you hugs and prayers. I'm sorry you're so far away from family and friends. I'm glad things are healing well. It helped me to keep a journal and write down what was going on every day or so. And I echo what Pumpkin said in post 107 about asking to see a Chaplin or volunteer to stop by and visit you.
 
***More Information for Maisybo’s surgery***
I just spoke with the surgery coordinator for Dr Maale. My surgery is scheduled for May 9.
I talked to her a little bit about how terrible my appointment was with Dr Nguyen & said something about getting a different surgeon who wouldn’t go into the surgery with the idea I was going to lose my leg & that I planned to talk to Dr Maale about everything next Tuesday & we could get a different surgeon who would be supportive of me & supportive of saving my leg.
She told me Dr Nguyen is the only plastic surgeon who accepts Medicare & works with Dr Maale. Medicare is the only insurance I have.
What am I going to do? I’ve got an appointment next Tuesday to talk about everything with Dr Maale, but if there aren’t any other surgeons who work with him besides Dr Nguyen who accept Medicare, I guess I’m stuck with him.....I’m so upset...comments welcomed.
Maisybo
 
Still tell Dr. Maale what Dr. Nguyen told you. He needs to know and maybe he'll have a talk with that cold-hearted doctor. I'm sure they have worked together many times, and Dr. Maale will make sure that everything's OK. Remember, he's the best!
 
Let’s keep the thought that Dr. Nguyen is much more conscientious with his work than with his bedside manner.

If you have no choice, you have no choice. So I guess you have to accept it. But I agree you should tell Dr. Maale what he said.

Lots of hugs and prayers coming your way! :console2:

I agree with the suggestion of asking for a chaplain and/or volunteer to visit with you. That’s why chaplains are there, they want to visit with you and help you through your experience.

We are all rooting for you!!! :console2:
 
Go over the consent form carefully and make sure that amputation is NOT on there.
 
If you cannot get another plastic surgeon -- we all have to work within our own set of circumstances -- then Dr. Nguyen will be the one to work on your flap. It may be possible for you to develop a better rapport with him the second time around. (It can't really get any worse, the way he started out.) Some surgeons are so comfortable speaking clinically about their work that they don't realize the effect their hypothetical tangents have on the patient, who doesn't have that same emotional distance. I was married to a doctor who was, in fact, very good at relating to his patients, and I overheard him on the phone time and again talking patients down from emotionally awful visits with specialists.

Do tell Dr. Maale about your visit with Dr. Nguyen. He should know. But if you have to have Dr. Nguyen as your plastic surgeon, try to be open-minded next time you meet. He may not realize his talk with you was hurtful.
 
I assume that Dr Maale has worked with Dr Nguyen before and is happy with the work he does. So, I think you can assume that, even though his bedside manner is appalling, he will do a good job of the surgery. That's what really matters.

Still tell Dr Maale what Dr Nguyen said, though. He does need to know.
 
Thank you, everyone for all your helpful & supportive words. It really means so much to me that you’ve all been kind enough to comment on my situation.
The wound vac doctor spoke with me yesterday; I explained what has transpired thus far, & he said “Dr Nguyen is an :censored: but he’s an excellent surgeon. He’ll do his best on your flap.”
I really like this doctor, the wound vac guy. I asked him if he could do my flap, half-jokingly, & he said he was sorry but he didn’t perform that kind of surgery. He assured me I would be fine under Dr Nguyen’s & Dr Maale’s care, & he actually said “we’re here for you, hon; let me know if you have any more questions.” His name is Dr Matthew Pompeo, & I’ve liked him from day 1.
I will ask about speaking to the Chaplain here & see if he/she can offer me some support.
Y’all are all my surrogate family & I can’t thank you enough for all your words of advice & encouragement; thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I’m still planning to go talk to Dr Maale Tuesday & see what he says.
I know there has to be some person out in the world who’s been in a situation like mine who’s had an infection & who’s overweight & has my same health challenges & who’s had the flap surgery & come thru it successfully! That’s what I need to hear about, you know? And by the way, I’ve continued losing weight here in the hospital — I’m eating, I guess just eating better than I was!
I will keep y’all updated.
I’m going to have to step out on faith & trust that God is holding my knee & the rest of me in the palm of his hand & that He & His Angels will be in that operating room guiding Dr Nguyen’s & Dr Maale’s minds & hands & everything will be OK...this is the hardest thing for me; trusting God...and staying positive instead of becoming swallowed up by negativity & despair!
Thanks again for your care & support.
 
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I’m so glad to hear how upbeat you sound right now. Isn’t it amazing what a positive conversation with one of our doctors can do for us! I’m glad Dr. Pompeo is so caring and personable.

Continued best wishes, hugs and prayers! :console2:
 
Having doctors you like and trust is a such a blessing. Dr. Pompeo really will be there for you, I think. My wound doctor (I too had a wound vac at one time, for an abdominal wound) was also a kind, friendly man. Maybe it comes with the kind of work they do, which is usually on patients who are under a lot of stress from protracted healing. I'm so glad you have found someone like him.

I'll be thinking of you as you continue this journey. :friends:
 
Maisy, it is impressive what a little support can do, isn't it? Of course you will be fine and frankly, I think that the Chaplains will be happy to visit with you, really how many people actually request them!! In addition, if you are from an organized religion---I am an Episcopalian, I would feel fine to call a priest in the hospital area and ask for some visits. The priest could visit and we have lay people who do that type of thing as well. A few visits will lift your spirits.
 
I never could have gone through all my surgeries without God taking care of me! He is my strength and my shield! Leaning on Him gets me through it all!

But, boy do I understand about staying positive. I was so angry when I broke my foot and ankle 3 weeks shy of my knee being 1 year old. Man, did I yell at Him. I was ashamed of myself, but my friend said to go ahead and yell, that God could handle it! That helped a lot!

Just know that there are lots of people on here that are praying for you. Prayer works!
 

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