Unnecessary medical care is harming patients physically and financially (2015)

Re:Unnecessary medical care is harming patients physically a... by maccard on Friday March 02, 2018 @11:26AM (#16502864)

While I'm sorry that this has happened to you, it's not fair to pin it on foot surgery. The same can be said for the majority of surgeries. I'm not in the US, FWIW. I've a family member who has had 3 surgeries on their hand (the last 2 to repair the damage done by the first one). Meanwhile, I have multiple friends who have had various surgeries for small sports injuries that are fully recovered. The risks and failure rates _are_ very high, but if you read the documentation[0] that they give to you, they are honestly explained.

Anyone going for surgery should strongly consider whether or not being placed under a medically induced coma, cut open poked around in, and sewn back together, along with the possible complications of all of the above, are worth the procedure happening. (That's not to say don't do it, but there's no such thing as risk free surgery).

[0] The piles of forms that they stuff in front of you are filled to the brim with this information. You are normally handed them at an incredibly inconvenient time, and told not to worry about them.

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Re:Unnecessary medical care is harming patients physically a... by hestipod on Friday March 02, 2018 @12:16PM (#16503522)

I don't recall receiving any forms explaining risks at all let alone the outcomes I experienced, just consent for "the procedure", HIPPA, and "guarantee to pay them" forms etc while I had an IV in my arm and was being wheeled down the hall. I was explicitly told beforehand it was a low risk procedure and I quote "I can't promise it will improve things much but it can't make it worse and if we dont do this you will be crippled by 50." I spent years stalling and getting second opinions and got agreement with him and suggestions for other surgeries as well. NOBODY told me what could happen.

The same family and people who preached about "trusting the professionals" then turned to victim blaming (which is all too common I have learned) when things went bad and said "Why did you trust them? Take responsibility for your choices!" This was not a time when it was as easy to research doctors reputations online either and frankly it wouldn't matter because they are like Amazon reviews. People tend to look back in time and put it on the patient and say they should have been smarter, known better etc.

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