Re: , regarding Radiologists

[Guest guest]

,

Admittedly, I did come down hard and biased about radiologists, but it is my

opinion, based on personal experience, that they can and do make mistakes,

just as they did with you. Sometimes those mistakes can or could be life

threatening, and it scares me.

As I said earlier, part of the problem is that in one facility, each report is

based on findings in the initial report, and if that's not done thoroughly and

correctly, it affects every report thereafter. The other problem with mine was

that the radiologist only looked where he " thought " the pancreas was

supposed to be, and because of the abnormal positioning of mine, he

completely overlooked an entire section of my pancreas. Granted, he filmed

where there were established parameters, but he should have been more

thorough and been looking further than he did. And then his ego got

involved, and he refused to reconsider his findings, just telling my GI that he

was " right " and that I only had one pseudocyst. So I had to go to the other

hospital and get my 12 earlier CT-scans, the last one being done less than a

month earlier, and have my GI take those to the radiologist to show him that

there were two, and where they were. Only then would he admit that he'd

made a mistake.

It wasn't a life or death situation, but it did cause a lot of stress on my

part,

and a temporary loss of credibility between my doctor and me. I thought I

was going crazy, because I knew that a 6 cm. pseudocyst doesn't just " go

away " in less than 30 days! And we were fortunate that it wasn't larger or

showing some signs of infection or rupture, then it could have been a very

serious problem. Or it could have been a tumor that was overlooked....like it

happened with you. Once these things start happening there can be some

really serious consequences, and I am so glad that they found yours when

they did and were able to take care of them.

Your doctor sounds like a smart fellow. I don't think you will want to be going

to UT for radiology work again, either! Sometimes it's really worth it to go

the

extra distance for health care. It may be an inconvenience, but in the long

run you can be so much better off. You are so fortunate that they caught

yours in time. You say that now there are others that are related to your

surgery? What do they plan to do about those?

With hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

SC & SE Regional Rep.

PAI, Intl.

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and

should not be substituted for professional medical consultation.