"Anaeshetist provided"

I had the very unfortunate experience of having a particular doctor allocated to me as my anaesthetist for a 4 hour procedure. After this procedure and awful experience, I wrote to the anaesthetist , noting I felt that there were multiple failings with my care, including:

The way they put the cannula in the vein on my hand was extremely painful. It is the worst pain I have ever had when someone has put a cannula in (and I have had many). When I had prior surgery with another anaesthetist, there was no pain as, from memory, that anaesthetist used something topical to minimise my discomfort and inserted the cannula in a much more gentle manner that did not make me scream in pain as this doctor did. Afterwards one of the nurses noted that the cannula had sediment in it and when they tried to flush it and reconnect the drip, the pain was excruciating and the drip could not be continued because it had been placed crooked in my vein. (Please note that had I not had vomiting and nausea I would not have needed the drip.) I subsequently developed a large diffuse bruise on top of my hand and a lump where the cannula was inserted. It was sore to the touch when I applied arnica cream for many weeks.

I had mentioned to the anaesthetist prior to the procedure that I experience nausea and vomiting from the anaesthetic if anti-nausea medication is not added. When I advised the nurse that I was experiencing nausea soon after returning to the ward, I was given something for it but it did not work and then something again. After about 4 hours unable to rest because of ongoing nausea, I still felt queasy but it had somewhat dissipated.

I then experienced severe pain that felt like a very bad migraine between my eyes. (This persisted well into the following evening requiring pain relief.) Given I had just had surgery, it was to be expected but to be told I cannot have pain medication based on the anaesthetist's instructions when I am in severe pain and have to wait another 4 hours for what was inadequate pain relief anyway is unacceptable. The nurse could see the pain I was in and was very apologetic that it was not possible to give me anything. I shouldn't have to beg for pain relief after having surgery. There is no reason to deny it in the 24 - 48 hours after surgery.

The anaesthetist then said on the phone to me after the surgery that there is no pain with this procedure yet I still had to take pain killers when I got home and the following days/nights so I could sleep. If there is no pain why was I given a pain killer script to get filled for when I went home?

The ongoing and unnecessary pain in hospital after the surgery hampered my recovery as I was unable to settle or sleep in hospital and felt distressed. I couldn't wait to go home so I could take pain medication. It was vital to sleep after the procedure and I was not able to do so. The lack of sleep also exacerbated my pain.

The fasting window the anaesthetist advised me to follow was more protracted than what the hospital advised and the hospital staff member I spoke to recommended against it but I trusted the anaesthetist at the time and went with what the anaesthetist advised me to do in the brief phone call while I was on a train and in their sms to me. This protracted fasting window may also have been a factor in causing the nausea and vomiting I experienced.

The last time I had vomiting after a procedure was in 2003 and since then I had alerted each anaesthetist to this issue and it has subsequently never been a problem. 

In my experience, recovery is much smoother and quicker if appropriate pain medication is given when required; predominantly in the 24-48 hours after surgery. That scenario only causes more pain. For example, when I had major surgery with another anaesthetist years before, I was given morphine after the surgery in the evening and then the next day. I went home relaxed and well-rested as I was able to sleep and take my mind off it.

I would never want to repeat this latest experience. The learnings for me are to not accept whichever anaesthetist I am offered for the surgery but to have a discussion with them first well before the surgery date to ascertain their attitude, skills, experience and level of empathy. I believe in taking the learnings when things go wrong and I would have expected this anaesthetist to do the same, as I suffered unnecessarily and went home in very bad shape.

I had hoped the anaesthetist could take the learnings from this, even if in the absence of empathy, from the perspective of maintaining their reputation and potential future earnings. Given the multiple failings noted above, I believe it would have shown honour and integrity to refund what I paid or as a minimum a goodwill gesture. I requested that the anaesthetist do so but they have refused to provide anything at all to make amends and show accountability for the harm they have caused.

The vein where the cannula was inserted has formed a raised and unsightly lump of veinous tissue. I am now faced with seeing a specialist at my own expense after being unnecessarily injured. I have not even been offered an apology for the unnecessary suffering and what is likely to be a permanent injury and disfigurement. I am very repulsed by what has been done to me and believe Macquarie Anaesthetic Group who despite my multiple efforts have done nothing to investigate and prevent this happening to someone else.

What I would like to see out of this is an apology, investigation, remediation of the failings and redress for what was done to me, what failed, the unnecessary harm and suffering I have been caused, and the permanent trauma and disfigurement I have been left with.