You have a five way bypass heart surgery and the surgeon forgets to connect one graft to the aorta

by Lexis Petzold
(Albany, OR)

My husband had an emergency five way by-pass (CAGB) in 2005 in Bellevue, WA. Big time city and hospital. Three years later, almost to the day, he had a second heart attack, kidney failure, and lungs that filled with fluid. He was placed on life support, and I was told to plan for his funeral.

Thankfully, he is a fighter and pulled through, but an angiogram showed that one of the grafts that were done, was not connected to the aorta. So, a portion of his heart did not receive fresh blood.This necessitated a second by-pass surgery in Aug. of 2008, after he was strong enough, and his kidney's were once again functioning. Two days after the second surgery he had to have a pace maker implanted.

It is now going on seven months, and he is still struggling with health issues. Plus, he has no more usable leg veins if he should ever need additional by-pass surgery. We filed a complaint, but of course, it was denied. The doctor that made the mistake had all kinds of excuses and reasons, most of them proven to be false, by medical tests that are definitive.

Unfortunately, we do not have the funds to sue, but if we did, we would certainly go after this doctor's license. This is the type of mistake that should never happen to anyone. Doctors count the sponges, but this one never counted his graft connections.