Patient’s Delayed Surgery
Her first surgery had gone wrong—the doctor removed the wrong gland—leaving a life-threatening condition untreated and her heart failing. The follow-up procedure, already overdue, was pushed back again when a ransomware attack no one had warned her about took the hospital's systems down. As weeks stretched into months, her congestive heart failure worsened, and by the time a new date arrived, she was too sick for the same-day surgery originally planned, and too depleted on sick leave to keep waiting.
“I was rescheduled for a corrective surgery in April, after a previous unsuccessful attempt in November when the doctor took out the wrong gland. The procedure was critical to my health because the hyperparathyroidism was causing congestive heart failure.
The hospital needed several weeks to get back to me. Communication was limited and updates scarce. When they finally called, I was told about a ransomware attack. I had no idea. Still, no one could tell me how long the restoration would take. All surgeries were canceled for at least a week.This pushed my surgery to the end of June.
“All surgeries were canceled for at least a week.”
During this delay, I grew progressively sicker. The congestive heart failure worsened. It was planned as same-day surgery, but I was too sick by that time. I had spent three days in the hospital and had already used up my sick leave between the first failed surgery and the last-minute rescheduling. By then, when I finally had the rescheduled surgery, I had run out of sick leave. I turned 65. My family had flown in to celebrate with me and put together a surprise birthday celebration. I had to miss it as I was too ill to attend.
“During this delay, I grew progressively sicker.”
The endocrine surgeon treating me was a fantastic professional. She later recalled this incident as the most traumatic event of her career. This is also because the hospital did not know how long the restoration would take. Medical information was not properly backed up, and this prolonged the recovery.”
“The endocrine surgeon treating me recalled this incident as the most traumatic event of her career.”
Meredith, United States