Woman gives birth; doctors cut off all her limbs by mistake

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2006-01-20 11:08am

* shakes head *

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. Over...

AMX · Post by **AMX** » 2006-01-20 11:09am

GuppyShark wrote:I'm hazy on the spread of this infection. Can you really experience outbreak in all limbs but not the torso?

Yes.
(<-- Saw a pic of exactly that during an "Introduction to Microbiology" lecture)

LauraG · Post by **LauraG** » 2006-01-20 11:21am

Mrs. Mejía deserves one-huge-payout (tm) from these idiots. Her life will never be the same, but a truckload of cash should go a long way to make her more comfortable.

In other news, prosthetics are a joke, even today, with microprocessors and other gadgets. They're cumbersome, uncomfortable and nowhere near as useful as they should be.

LongVin · Post by **LongVin** » 2006-01-20 01:51pm

Damn thats fucked up.

But I'm not surprised hospitals are notorious for mixing up patients and giving the wrong medication or the wrong surgery.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2006-01-20 01:54pm

LauraG wrote:Mrs. Mejía deserves one-huge-payout (tm) from these idiots. Her life will never be the same, but a truckload of cash should go a long way to make her more comfortable.

In other news, prosthetics are a joke, even today, with microprocessors and other gadgets. They're cumbersome, uncomfortable and nowhere near as useful as they should be.

Well put.
My major reason for going into engineering is to work on robotics so I can help develop better prostheses (someone else will have to do the neurobiology end of that).

...well, okay, it's also 'cuz I want awesome Ghost-in-the-Shell-style robotic limbs. But mainly it's the prosthetics.

LauraG · Post by **LauraG** » 2006-01-20 02:28pm

Molyneux wrote:My major reason for going into engineering is to work on robotics so I can help develop better prostheses (someone else will have to do the neurobiology end of that).

...well, okay, it's also 'cuz I want awesome Ghost-in-the-Shell-style robotic limbs. But mainly it's the prosthetics.

I'm seriously rooting for you on both counts!

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2006-01-20 03:02pm

Isn't there a new 15,000 dollar prosthetic out there that moves almost exactly like a human hand, can hold a wineglass, and can crush a skull?
I'm pretty sure I heard about it on the news a few months back; it was pretty nice. This woman should get a set of these so she can go on a rampage throughout the hospital ala Terminator.

...or maybe I'm watching too many movies.

LauraG · Post by **LauraG** » 2006-01-20 03:12pm

Captain tycho wrote:Isn't there a new 15,000 dollar prosthetic out there that moves almost exactly like a human hand, can hold a wineglass, and can crush a skull?
I'm pretty sure I heard about it on the news a few months back; it was pretty nice. This woman should get a set of these so she can go on a rampage throughout the hospital ala Terminator.

...or maybe I'm watching too many movies.

The only $15,000 myoelectric arm is, I think, the Utah Arm, I think. Arms aren't my main area of interest, but I've seen a few. It moves nothing like a flesh and bone hand. It can hold a wine glass and, if swung hard enough, could probably put a dent in someone's skull.

The state-of-the-art in prosthetics is far, far, far from being that advanced. Legs (in which I am interested enough to keep an eye out for the new technology) are quite a bit simpler than arms, yet only now are they beginning to play around with active, powered prostheses. It's a start, and I'm looking forward to seeing where that takes prosthetics in a decade or so.

In any case, Mrs. Mejía deserves to go on more than a hospital rampage. Way more.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2006-01-20 04:39pm

GuppyShark wrote:I'm hazy on the spread of this infection. Can you really experience outbreak in all limbs but not the torso?

There's a couple different ways you can wind up losing limbs to such a system-wide infection. Some of those effects only destroy the extremities, some can also cause major organ and torso damage, or even destroy part of the face and skull.

Saw a report once on a woman who survived toxic shock and woke up with not only her hands and feet gone but with a double-mastectomy, too. Lost a LOT of skin and flesh from her torso. In her case, though, she retained her major limb joints - that is, elbows and knees - and after rehab was able to resume self-care, driving, and much of what she had done before to take care of her kids and home. Really quite amazing to see her change the bedding without wearing prosthetics. Also was able to get her prosthetics on and off again without assistance. So yeah, it's a terrible, horrible disfiguring, disabling thing, but she was hardly left lying flat on her back the rest of her life.

How bad off this Florida woman is, I can't say - they don't tell you in detail. A lot of how things turn out depends upon her, too. It's all too easy in some cases to give up and simply let other people take care of you instead of struggling for what independence you can have, and doing the very hard work to get it.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2006-01-20 04:50pm

Captain tycho wrote:Isn't there a new 15,000 dollar prosthetic out there that moves almost exactly like a human hand, can hold a wineglass, and can crush a skull?
I'm pretty sure I heard about it on the news a few months back; it was pretty nice. This woman should get a set of these so she can go on a rampage throughout the hospital ala Terminator.

A myoelectric hand picks up signals from the residual limb and moves in response to them - but it's a fuck of a lot more than $15,000. In addition to the basic mechanism itself, there's the cost of the on-board electronics, and each prosthesis must be individually "tuned" to each wearer.

It doesn't move "exactly" like a human hand - basically, it allows two variations on a pincer-like grip. So yes, it can hold a wineglass - but no, it can't crush a skull. Also requires batteries, that must be recharged on a regular basis, and maintenance.

Nor is it suited to all amputees, nor can all amputees wear it or learn to use it. Some people actually opt for a "cosmetic" hand - an artificial hand the mimics the appearance of a hand but has no actual function, rather like a manequin's hand. This may sound strange us normal folks, but they are durable, less expensive, and much less bother in regards to upkeep.

Last time I looked in the system-wide medical policy book at work, the company was authorizing up to $65,000 per myoelectric arm, for those patients who qualified. The company I work for will only pay for one myo per patient - if you want two, you pay for the second one out of your own pocket. I know the UK health system also only pays for one - the Iraqi boy who was a double-arm amputee only recevied on myo arm, his other being a more typical, non-myo prosthesis with a cosmetic glove. Some amputees have opted for double-myoelectrics. I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of how these decisions get made on a personal level - that is, who goes to the trouble and cost of double-mylo vs. someone who opts for a mixed pair.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2006-01-20 11:41pm

She should drain the idiots who fucked up for every single penny they have, and then some.

Invictus ChiKen · Post by **Invictus ChiKen** » 2006-01-21 03:21am

Damn...

I keep having visions of some wealthy asshole paying for her arms to get a "Transplant"

I know... I HOPE that isn't the case but it's all I can think of.

Oh if this is just a fuck up. I wanna see SWAT storm that place and size the documents...

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2006-01-21 04:57am

Thanks AMX and Broomstick.

LauraG · Post by **LauraG** » 2006-01-22 05:28pm

Invictus ChiKen wrote:Damn...

I keep having visions of some wealthy asshole paying for her arms to get a "Transplant"

As I see it, limb transplants aren't worth the risks.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2006-01-22 05:57pm

I'm sure the several recipients of successful hand transplants and that lady in France with her new face would disagree with your opinion.

Post by **Cairber** » 2006-01-22 06:24pm

This story has been updated and shows why it would violate other patient's rights (possibly):

Woman who became amputee sues for other patients' records
ORLANDO, Fla. — A woman, who became quadruple amputee after contracting a bacterial infection, has sued the hospital where she developed the infection to obtain records on other patients who may have gone through similar incidents.

Claudia Mejia, 24, of Sanford, checked into Orlando Regional South Seminole Hospital on April 28 to give birth to a baby boy, but after the delivery, she got a rash and had severe pains in her stomach, the Orlando Sentinel reported for Saturday editions.

Two days later, she was moved to intensive care, and then later transferred to the Orlando Regional Medical Center. She then went into shock, her kidneys began to shut down, and gangrene set in, according to her medical records.

Her hospital release papers said she had contracted an aggressive streptococcal infection, resistant to antibiotics. Twelve days after she gave birth, doctors amputated her arms and legs, the newspaper said.

On Jan. 13 Mejia sued Orlando Regional Healthcare System Inc., which operates the hospital, asking a judge to order the company to release records of any other adverse medical incidents related to flesh-eating bacteria before her discharge on Aug. 4. The company refused to divulge the information, citing patient privacy, the newspaper said.

ORHS lawyer Jennings L. Hurt III has said Mejia could not obtain records involving other patients because despite a constitutional amendment requiring their disclosure, state lawmakers have yet to pass enabling legislation.

Post by **Cairber** » 2006-01-22 06:28pm

Sorry forgot to add the link:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/cont ... =7&cxcat=0

LauraG · Post by **LauraG** » 2006-01-22 06:34pm

Broomstick wrote:I'm sure the several recipients of successful hand transplants and that lady in France with her new face would disagree with your opinion.

More than a few hand transplant recipients have expressed regret and three of them have opted to have the transplanted hand removed. A new, limited-function hand in exchange for a lifetime of what amounts to immunosuppressant-induced AIDS isn't all it's cracked up to be.

As far as the face transplant recipient, I'm not too sure she cares that deeply about her new face, as she used her new lips to take up smoking again a couple of weeks into her post-op.

...and I said "limb transplants", not "face transplants". I'm sure there are different, maybe more desirable benefits to having a face that don't register quite as high with limbs.

I wouldn't have a limb transplant it the price I had to pay was a permanently and severy immunodepressed state.

AK_Jedi · Post by **AK_Jedi** » 2006-01-22 06:42pm

Broomstick wrote:Bingo.

The hospital is correct - disclosing whether or not anyone else had an active strep infection (we are all strep "carriers") at the same time WOULD be a violation of US law, specifically HIPAA, which carries very severe penalities for doing so.

This doesn't really make sense to me. All they would have to say about the third party would be something along the lines of "patient X in room 302..." There is no reason to bring the other person's life story into the mix. Just a person with this condition without being referred to by name should be enough.

Molyneux wrote:The closest we've come on that front is an electrode in the brain of a rhesus monkey allowing her to be trained to move a robotic arm - so it may be in the near future for humans, but it's still a matter of years.

Incidently, I remember a news story about a man who had this kind of robotic arm installed. I'm not sure of the success they had, but it is a significant step forward.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2006-01-22 07:03pm

Orlando Sentinel Story

<snip>
According to her medical records, Mejia suffered not just the infection -- she went into shock, and her kidneys began to shut down. Gangrene set in.

Twelve days after she gave birth, doctors amputated her arms and legs.

"They gave her a choice of either dying or getting her limbs amputated," said her husband, a manager at Target in Lake Mary.
<snip>

...huh.

Props to guys on another board who pointed this out to me.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2006-01-22 07:08pm

That settles it then. As I expected, there was something more to this, so I held back from any pondering. When you mention something like necrotizing fasciitis and quadruple amputation, my money goes on there being a bad infection with death on the cards. You really don't want to die like that, so the only way you're getting out is by amputation, and hoping the bacteria hasn't subdermally travelled anywhere into your abdomen.

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2006-01-22 08:14pm

Thanks Broomstick. It's pretty easy to turn threads like these into mindless bashing of the faceless entity before we have all the info. Events like these are a lesson for all of us: don't trust the first media report whole-heartedly.

Jason von Evil · Post by **Jason von Evil** » 2006-01-22 08:25pm

"Mistake"? I'm sorry, but when you amputate a woman's limbs when she's giving birth, thats beyond the realm of faux paux or even "opps, my bad". There is no justification or way to bullshit around this. They are going to be paying out of their fucking asses for this.

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2006-01-22 08:32pm

Jason von Evil wrote:"Mistake"? I'm sorry, but when you amputate a woman's limbs when she's giving birth, thats beyond the realm of faux paux or even "opps, my bad". There is no justification or way to bullshit around this. They are going to be paying out of their fucking asses for this.

Backtrack three posts up, please. Hell the entire thread too.

mr friendly guy · Post by **mr friendly guy** » 2006-01-22 10:21pm

That clarify things a bit. I admit at the start I was very suspicious of the hospital because the first article made it sound like they didn't even discuss amputation with the woman or relatives, giving the impression that it was a possible mix up.

That being said, as long as the hospital can show a consent form with signature, and doctor's notes indicating severity of her disease, then there shouldn't be a problem in that regard.

The other thing it seems is, the patient wants to know whether someone else has streptococcus on the ward. I wonder if they will try and argue that the hospital didn't do enough to prevent the spread of streptococcus to other patients (assuming of course she wasn't the only one who had a severe case of it), especially if this one is antibiotic resistant. For some strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria for example VRE there is usually some protocol to contain its spread within the hospital.