Instead they did a bleeder scan with no results. My question is they had no consent to do it, do we have legal rights for this? The had to stop the procedure after 1 1/2 hours because he was in pain.
Guess I'm a bit confused. Hubby was supposed to have a sigmoidoscopy (a visualization inside the last portion of the bowel with a long scope). Because this is an "invasive" (inside the body) procedure, he would need to sign a consent.
But, instead he had a "bleeder" (bladder?) scan? A scanner with gel rubbed over the skin (non-invasive-not requiring a consent) to look inside the bladder?
I'm assuming your husband is either having pain or pressure in his lower abdomen.
Sounds to me like they're guessing at what the problem is and trying to figure out the appropriate test. This process is called "ruling out", meaning they will do a specific test to disqualify having a specific problem (disease).
I'm not sure if they would be scanning his bladder for an hour and a half. That's usually done in less than half an hour. The fact that they found nothing means the bladder is probably not suspected to be involved with his problem.
Was it an invasive procedure (where they put a tube or scope inside his bladder)? That would require a consent form signed.
I know that you always have to sign a consent form before a procedure. Depending on how it was worded, they perhaps should have gotten consent again, or maybe the original form covered it. If they'd asked you, would you have refused? Why?
Was your husband in pain because of having to lie so still for so long? The procedure itself is "not supposed" to be painful. (Famous last words.)
So they had to stop before they got results? Bummer! Poor hubby got through that long and has nothing to show for it? Grrrr ...
Is hubby in the hospital or other facility or was this a test he was a walk-in for? They did lots of tests on my husband when he was hospitalized and I didn’t have to consent to any of them nor did he have to sign anything. On the other hand, if he was a walk-in, i would think one of the nurses or doctors would have come out and told you the procedure had changed. In any case, I’d be on the phone tomorrow with the doctor who ordered the test and find out what happened.
In regards to your husband's pain, what was the source of his pain? Was the pain the same pain that he has been complaining about and the reason that they were planning to do the sigmoidoscopy and did the bleeder scan? Or was the pain the result of lying in the same position on a hard table or surface for 1 1/2 hours while the bleeder scan was done?
www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tc/technetium-labeled-red-blood-cell-bleeding-scan-topic-overview WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise states that "Technetium-Labeled Red Blood Cell Bleeding Scan":
In a technetium-labeled red blood cell bleeding scan, blood is taken from you, and a small amount of radioactive material called technetium is added to the blood. The blood with the technetium is then injected back into your bloodstream.
Red blood cells with the technetium attached to them accumulate at the location of active bleeding. A machine scans the body to find where the technetium accumulates. This method of finding bleeding is sometimes more effective than angiography. The technetium-labeled red blood cell bleeding scan may find slow bleeding that can't be seen using angiography.
The technetium-labeled red blood cell bleeding scan is used: --•If the source of the bleeding in the large intestine cannot be found using colonoscopy or other methods. --•If the bleeding is too slow or intermittent to be detected by angiography. --•If colonoscopy finds that the bleeding is coming from a spot in the small intestine and the bleeding does not stop. (The bleeding stops on its own in most people.) --•When surgery is needed to stop the bleeding. It is important to locate exactly the source of the bleeding before surgery.
You need to ask to ask your husband's doctor why the Bleeder Scan was done. A sigmoidoscopy only looks at the inner lining of the rectum and the lower part of the colon and does not look at the entire large intestine. It is possible that the doctor did the sigmoidoscopy (it usually lasts from 10 to 20 minutes and the patient usually doesn't need to be sedated) and finding nothing, decided to proceed with the bleeder scan. The doctor may have gotten oral permission from your husband immediately after the sigmoidoscopy was done and your husband doesn't remember giving his permission. The best thing to do is to talk to the doctor and ask him/her what the results of the sigmoidoscopy were and why the bleeder scan was done.
THEY did not have consent for the bleeder scan. the pain was due to the fact that he had to lay on table for long period of time. they did the sigmoidoscopy last night and found where the blood was coming from. he is a patient in hospital (84) yrs old.was profusely bleeding before but dr. said will keep an eye on him. if they did the syig. first it would have been found with no pain.
Hubby was supposed to have a sigmoidoscopy (a visualization inside the last portion of the bowel with a long scope). Because this is an "invasive" (inside the body) procedure, he would need to sign a consent.
But, instead he had a "bleeder" (bladder?) scan? A scanner with gel rubbed over the skin (non-invasive-not requiring a consent) to look inside the bladder?
I'm assuming your husband is either having pain or pressure in his lower abdomen.
Sounds to me like they're guessing at what the problem is and trying to figure out the appropriate test. This process is called "ruling out", meaning they will do a specific test to disqualify having a specific problem (disease).
I'm not sure if they would be scanning his bladder for an hour and a half. That's usually done in less than half an hour. The fact that they found nothing means the bladder is probably not suspected to be involved with his problem.
Was it an invasive procedure (where they put a tube or scope inside his bladder)? That would require a consent form signed.
It really would help to have more information.
What have they discovered or ruled out so far?
Was your husband in pain because of having to lie so still for so long? The procedure itself is "not supposed" to be painful. (Famous last words.)
So they had to stop before they got results? Bummer! Poor hubby got through that long and has nothing to show for it? Grrrr ...
What is the next step in diagnosing the problem?
www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tc/technetium-labeled-red-blood-cell-bleeding-scan-topic-overview
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise states that "Technetium-Labeled Red Blood Cell Bleeding Scan":
In a technetium-labeled red blood cell bleeding scan, blood is taken from you, and a small amount of radioactive material called technetium is added to the blood. The blood with the technetium is then injected back into your bloodstream.
Red blood cells with the technetium attached to them accumulate at the location of active bleeding. A machine scans the body to find where the technetium accumulates. This method of finding bleeding is sometimes more effective than angiography. The technetium-labeled red blood cell bleeding scan may find slow bleeding that can't be seen using angiography.
The technetium-labeled red blood cell bleeding scan is used:
--•If the source of the bleeding in the large intestine cannot be found using colonoscopy or other methods.
--•If the bleeding is too slow or intermittent to be detected by angiography.
--•If colonoscopy finds that the bleeding is coming from a spot in the small intestine and the bleeding does not stop. (The bleeding stops on its own in most people.)
--•When surgery is needed to stop the bleeding. It is important to locate exactly the source of the bleeding before surgery.
You need to ask to ask your husband's doctor why the Bleeder Scan was done. A sigmoidoscopy only looks at the inner lining of the rectum and the lower part of the colon and does not look at the entire large intestine. It is possible that the doctor did the sigmoidoscopy (it usually lasts from 10 to 20 minutes and the patient usually doesn't need to be sedated) and finding nothing, decided to proceed with the bleeder scan. The doctor may have gotten oral permission from your husband immediately after the sigmoidoscopy was done and your husband doesn't remember giving his permission. The best thing to do is to talk to the doctor and ask him/her what the results of the sigmoidoscopy were and why the bleeder scan was done.