chest pain

[14penny]

Hi everyone,

I have not been on here for about 4 months as have been in and out of hospital and have finally had a growth removed from chest area a major operation which the docs only discovered after I had pericodartitus inflamation round the heart and they saw a mass in my chest. What concerns me is I had an abnormal x ray done in 2001 ! and nobody thought to tell me! since then this has been growing and growing and my doctor put me on iron pills as she thought i was anaemic and i was getting more breathless. I wonder if anyone else has had similar and what do you think i should do because if this had been cancer i would not be here now I had the op done on 8th Aug and am waiting to find out what it was.

Anny

[medway-lady]

I'd not leap to conclusions just yet as an abnormal Xray unless you've been told otherwise already, might be anything. And it may not have been worth treating at that time but a watching brief on the condition.

And you may be anaemic, its just coincidence. I can't understand why you would not be investigated as a doctor, radiographer and possibly a senior hospital doctor would have checked the X-ray would have missed the same thing. Obviously these things do happen but please be patient and ask your consultant what has happened and then if you think a mistake has been made you'd need properly qualified legal advice. If its any help my husband recently had a serious heart condition discovered, no one is at fault its just that its only been in the last couple of years that it has been diagnosable and in fact treatable.

I really hope you find some answers and feel better very soon. x

[14penny in reply to medway-lady]

Hi Medway Lady,

Thanks for your reply, I cannot understand how it was missed as I am sure it would not have just been filed away but regarding the anaemia I was only like it for a short time and I took the iron pills which corrected it, I just feel a little let down as I have just had open chest surgery which may have been avoidable if caught earlier, but I do hope your husband is ok now.

Thanks

Anny

[Sheila_G]

Hi Anny. Just to clarify, if you had an abnormal xray and no-one told you, how do you know it was abnormal?

[14penny in reply to Sheila_G]

Hi Sheila, I went to a &be with chest pains and they found the mass and looked at old x rays and told me there that did I know I had an abnormal x Ray back in 2001 which I did not

Any

[Sheila_G in reply to 14penny]

I think that is unacceptable. You must follow this up, not only for yourself but to stop it happening to other people. I would be wanting an explanation and fast. All the best x

[14penny in reply to Sheila_G]

Thanks Sheila, Waiting to get over this and I may pursue it or at least I will want an explenation of what went wrong with the system. Anny

[Someonesmother]

Well I am glad they found it and operated. I guess it may have been a wait and see thing and then went off the radar. I guess Drs are human like us. I have to keep reminding mine about things all the time. I think they are understaffed and have way too many patients to see. Cuts ti health impact in many ways

[sylvi]

First off darling i am glad your now on the mend.i am shocked that they didn't tell you that there was a growth there. You might want to consider complaining to the hospital darling.xxxxx

[CloudTreeDrive13]

O m g. I'm sorry but i would be very peed off. Who and how was it not picked up in 2001. If it had been noticed you would not have had to go through such major surgery. Life is precious and mistakes get made. Perhaps they should always get a second person to double check. I would definitely put in a complaint. It must have been quite a shock for you but i'm glad you're on the mend. Take care xxxx

[14penny in reply to CloudTreeDrive13]

Thanks for your reply, your right life is precious but I think mine had been filed away and hopefully when I am back on my feet I will look into it more Thanks Anny

[craigsif]

Morning I take it you're in the UK, see if your hospital has PALs most NHS hospitals do, advised them of your concerns. A clinical report should of been completed when anything untoward is found, and then the x-ray is looked at by the next person in the chain, but you are talking about 15 years ago methods and systems have changed immensely since then. Yes it may of slipped through the net, it does happen. I am glad that it has resolved and hopefully your on the road to recovery lots of hugs warmest Craig

[14penny in reply to craigsif]

Thanks Craig yes am in the UK in Kent and two weeks post op and feeling very sore but hopefully on the mend. Thanks for your reply Anny

[Amy_Lee]

Dear Penny,

Poor thing really. I hope you are getting better after the operation. I am also surprised that they did not carry out any test or follow up after that?

[14penny in reply to Amy_Lee]

Thanks Amy it's nice to have replies as have been feeling very overwhelmed by it all and hopefully on the mend Anny

[Hidden]

I would not be impressed with your doctors. An abnormal xray 15 years ago and no one mentioned this to you?

My hubby went through something similar. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer 27 years ago. They removed his bowel and then they put it back because it wasn't cancer but an apendicitis....they put the bowels back the wrong way...He got a major infection and almost died....Thank God he is fine today.

There was no point in sueing the hospitals where we live. The doctors are governed by the College of physicians and surgeons here. Meaning that the medical profession judges themselves.

Not sure who governs your country's doctors, but I would talk to a lawyer to send a letter. In Canada the letter goes on the doctors files and his medical malpractice insurance goes up. He is a risk for hospitals to hire.

I believe people make mistakes. But there is a difference between having ketchup on your burger when you ordered no ketchup and having a growth on your pericarditis...not impressed.

i'm glad you are OK. Makes you appriciate life eh?

[14penny]

Thanks for your reply and it does make you appreciate life, but I can't face any questions about this until completely better, I have had so many good opinions regarding this it has made me feel not so alone, and I was shocked to hear what happened to your husband and so glad it had a good outcome. Thanks Anny

[DelicateInput]

Before you do anything, it is important to request copies of all your medical records from the Medical Records Dept of the hospital both where you had the X-ray all those years ago and where you had the operation. Ask for them all. There will be a fee. Certainly, do not register any complaint or even hint at it until you have these.

I notice that hospitals only ever send the GP a short letter summarising investigations or else a short report commenting on the results so the GP is unlikely to have been aware of this. You will need to ask for the X-ray film itself. Unfortunately, hospitals are notorious for not disclosing the full results of their investigations. It is quite an eye opener to receive the medical records which contain a lot more than you have been told.

[14penny in reply to DelicateInput]

Thanks so much for the advice, I will certainly tread carefully and I don't intend to start any questions until i am fully recovered but I think as you say it is better to be aware of all the medical evidence if I do decide to pursue it but not sure if it will be any help as to what as happened only to hope no one else goes through the same thing. Anny

[DelicateInput]

I think people always rely on doctors to tell them the facts but they don't. Hospitals write to the GP and leave it to the GP to tell the patient but as far as tests are concerned they don't seem to reveal these and just give a one line summary which may or may not be accurate.

In my current situation, attending a hospital, I've been asking for copies of test results and obtained a CD rom of an ultrasound. I did not get the full truth from the consultant, as he tried to minimise my condition, but I had already obtained the records and the sonographers had already told me what was found so I knew he was being economical with the truth. He gave a diagnosis six months later, based on an MRI scan which showed an improvement.

One of my reasons for requesting records now is that my full medical records from a hospital were once sent to me in error, when I had only requested the report of one CT scan on my sinuses. They made entertaining reading, which would have been a good script for a comedy film. It included a note on not being able to separate diptheria from a swab they had taken. They also alleged I had refused a bronchoscopy - which I was never offered. I would have made a complaint but this happened 12 years earlier and I don't think anybody would have cared so I could not be bothered. I don't rely on anything they tell me any more.

Whatever you do, it will be useful to have all the facts relating to your condition. You need to know what is "abnormal" - forewarned is forearmed.

[14penny in reply to DelicateInput]

Hi, You'r right forwarned is definately forearmed, I will get all the evidence first even though I probably won't do anything, but it is great to hear everyones opinion as I would never have guessed so many others have had similar problems. Thanks Anny

[Etostar]

Hi Anny, Ooooxxx to you, prayers for you, sorry this dragged on so long. Yes, thankfully it was not cancer!

[14penny]

Thanks Etostar . \Anny