profirefight wrote:Damn, this really sucks to hear. I meet with him this coming Wednesday.
Thank you for replying though..
May I ask what you think he did specifically that was wrong or could have been done better? You mentioned that you may have had these problems no matter who it was that performed the surgery. So I am just curious if you can give more details.
Thanks.
My wife told me in the recovery area that the surgery went well and that I was scheduled to come back in for a follow up in 3 days to see how I was healing and to have the drain tube removed. She also told me that Dr Pollard wouldn't be there and that I would be seeing a different doctor (which was disappointing to hear). After this follow up appt was scheduled, I was told by the hospital staff that I would need to show that I could go to the bathroom before I could be discharged. (This was a same day outpatient procedure). I couldn't pee so the nurse called Dr Pollard for permission to reinsert a catheter that I would go home with. During those 3 days, the catheter became increasingly uncomfortable but I had nothing to compare it with and also didn't know if the discomfort was maybe just from the surgery. When I got to his office 3 days later, they didn't know anything about me having a catheter and they told me I would be seeing a nurse, not a doctor. I stressed that I needed to get this catheter in out soon and that I was very uncomfortable. An aid took me back to a room and told me that I was only there to have the drain tube removed. I insisted I had to be have the catheter out and that I had only received the catheter because I couldn't pee before I left the hospital. Dr Dell later came in (I had said when I first came in that I had an appointment with Dr Dell but I was told that she was in surgery and that I was supposed to see a nurse). She was not very pleasant but in fairness to her, it at first must have looked like I was insisting on something that was against my doctor's wishes. She did take the catheter out. There was an excessive amount of blood that she said was unusual and she was concerned about. She even stepped out and called Dr Pollard (she later commented he wasn't much help). She also said Dr Pollard was going to call me next week (this was a Friday and she either said he'd call on Monday or next week, not sure which one she said). He did not call. The blood in my urine did stop. From what I've read it's not uncommon to have a catheter for a day after the procedure particularly if you stay overnight. But 3 days is not common at all (for this procedure). During those 3 days (days 2 and 3 we're more uncomfortable) I tried to reassure my that, well the doctor knows what he's doing, it must be ok to keep this in for 3 days and maybe this discomfort is normal. But in actuality, the catheter was put back in (at Dr pollard's direction) after my follow up appt was scheduled and he simply forgot to tell anyone and then he was going to be off from work. And my follow up appt date wasn't reassessed after my medical circumstances changed(when I couldn't pee and the decision was made that I would need to go home with a catheter). I think he just totally forgot about it. I now have chronic prostate discomfort like I've never had before the procedure. I've also had ongoing discomfort where the reservoir tube goes up to the abdomen area. Regarding who you choose, there are lots of people saying lots of positive things about other doctors. No one is saying anything about Dr Pollard but me and in 8 months since the procedure, I've had some level of discomfort everyday (minus maybe 10 days of feeling fine). That's why I say be open to other options.