What would you do?

joyawilliams

I will try to make this short. I was diagnosed with DCIS last October. When they did the biospy the "clip" did not deploy. This meant that the area where the DCIS was found was not marked. Immediately after the biopsy they did a mammogram and could not find the site.  I was schedule for a lumpectomy and before the surgery I had a procedure to mark the biospy site. (two wire were inserted in my breast making an x to mark the spot).  The test result on the tissue removed was one DCIS in the 3 o'clock margin, and no sign of the biospy site, in other word they missed completely.

I did not have enough breast left for a second lumpectomy, so Feb. 1st I had a mastectomy, and began reconstruction. Now part of me believes that the Dr who failed to put the clip in the biospy site is the soul reason I lost my right breast. I have had to not think about the whole what it someone didn't screw up I would not have had to have more surgery, because I have been trying to getting through this. I just had the final surgery the implant is in and the Expander is out.

I have talked to my insurance company about the mistake, figuring their voice would be louder than mine, but as I sit here and think about what these last 6 months have bring like not only for me but my family and my employer.  I am lucky with all the time off I have had to have that I still have a job.

I am truly grateful that I am cancer free, and it feels wrong to complain about anything becaue of that. Me, my family, and my employer have had some major loss because they didn't get it right the first time. I feel like maybe I should do some more because I really done want anyone else to have to go through this.

who ever reads this thank you for your time.

Josiekat

Hi joy.

So sorry you hd to go through a situation like that. Not surprised you are frustrated. But, in my opinion, error happens time to time with medicine as in all fields, where humans are involved. I wish we were all perfect in everything we do, but that's just impossible.

Are you wondering if you should sue? That is up to you and your family to decide. Personally, I think our medical system is bogged down as it is. But, that's just me.

Good luck to you!

Chickadee

Did you have a question? Is there an insurance issue?

dlb823

It's impossible to know from your account if the failed clip rises to the level of medical malpractice, or if, as Josiekat suggests, it's just a procedure or device that didn't have a perfect outcome.  Whichever it is, I think you need to do what you can to figure it out and understand it, to get beyond feeling victimized by it.

Do you have copies of the medical reports from your biopsy and surgeries?  If not, I think you need to get ahold of those.  Then maybe go to a different medical facility/team for a 2nd opinion on your case, and specifically ask them if the care you had was  sub-standard in any way.  If they tell you it was, then you'll probably want to talk to a medical malpractice attorney.  If they think it's more of an unfortunate outcome, then about all you can do is maybe write a letter to the doctor and/or the manufacturer of the clip, to let them know how what happened has affected you.  

I think you're going to have a hard time getting past the anger (which can't be good for you) without delving into and trying to understand exactly how the problem occured, and then figuring out where it falls within the range of errors.  Was it truly negligence, or were you just unfortunate enough to be in a very small percentage of women for whom this procedure/device fails?

I'm sorry this happened to you, but hoping you can figure out exactly what happened to get some closure.    Deanna 

SheChirple

Joy,

Let me follow.  You had a biopsy that confirmed DCIS. They failed to deploy the marker/clip.  When you had lumpectomy they removed a site that was confirmed DCIS, but did not confirm they also had hit the actual biposied site.  If that is correct, you either had two sites of DCIS (one that was biopsied and one that was removed with lumpectomy), or the biopsy completely removed the DCIS tissue without leaving scar tissue, which would seem near impossible. I cannot find statistics on that.  

That said, when they did the mastectomy did the pathology report NOW confirm the location or finding of the original biopsy site had been removed?  Did they find any additional DCIS sites in the mastectomy tissue?

According to the Institute for Advanced Medical Education, clip deployment failure is about 7%.  Scary, but it seems this is an expected 'complication', and therefore not outside the standard of care.

 The insurance company has no pony in this race and really wont be of any help.  I do not think a medical malpractice case will have any success, as the standard of care seems to have been met. I can tell you, from years of handling medical malpractice cases, that what you go through as a plaintiff is seldom worth the outcome. It is brutal.

I hope that you can understand that it is possible, and probable, that you had 2 areas of DCIS, one that was found in biopsy  and one that was removed during lumpectomy that was DIFFERENT from the one found at biopsy, therefore, the mastectomy would have been necessary.  It is important to see the pathology report from the mastectomy to see if they found that other DCIS spot or the evidence of biopsy.

itsjustme10

Even if the clip had depoyed, there is no guarantee that they would've had clean margins.  It also sounds like they did hit the proper location, since they did find DCIS in the tissue that was removed from you.  Since I've read that many women have had to go back for 2nd lumpectomies, and in some cases, even go back a 3rd time due to unclean margins, I'm really not sure what you're actually looking for... equipment failure is not necessarily malpractice, and it certainly sounds like your medical team tried very hard to overcome the failure of the clup to deploy, and used due care to ensure your future health.  It's unfortunate that your personal anatomy did not allow you the option of a 2nd lumpectomy, as many women have had, but that's not the doctor's fault... although I'm a little confused as to what you meant by "one DCIS" - 1 CM, 1 MM, 1 what? And, if they missed entirely, as you suggest, that means this "error" may have saved your life, as this "one DCIS" could have been possibly left inside you.  So it may have been a blessing in disguise.

I hope everything is all clear for you now, and you can put this breast cancer ordeal behind you.