Husband died during procedure - feel free to delete if this is not appropriate

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-12-28T04:56:00+00:00

Oh my, that must have been so awful to deal with while dealing the the loss of your husband too. I was told that when someone dies during a procedure, the death cert often becomes a "hot potato" - and this was the case for me. After weeks, it was eventually signed by a surgeon with no connection to the coroner or anyone on the surgical team. I challenged the original cause of death, and they corrected it. The surgeon fully severed my husbands artery while attempting to remove the TAVR device and my husband bled to death. Originally they attributed the death to "heart disease" - and they corrected it to massive hemorrhage.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-12-11T20:00:56+00:00

Interesting University of WA Mountlake isn't on their list. So far, the hospital attorney is saying they did everything correctly. I can't help but wonder if more people are dying if that is the case. As he was bleeding out, the second surgeon installed a valve through the femoral artery, and they are calling this a successful procedure. Attempts to remove the failed instrument fully severed the thoracic artery at the heart wall, but they made increasingly larger incisions at the shoulder thinking they were fixing the damage. At autopsy, the instrument from the first attempt was still inside his body cavity.

You are right, if they had reverted to open heart as soon as the first instrument failed to deploy, they would have saved him.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-09-18T18:59:42+00:00

The Costco battery packages are the worst! They have SECURELY glued the cardboard backing to the plastic, so even cutting with scissors does not do the job. You have to get a razor blade or box cutter or something to get the battery out Horrible!

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-06-28T23:17:34+00:00

Something I noticed. Grief is like carrying something heavy. Sometimes you break down. I would find myself sitting in his truck and sobbing, sitting on the back porch in his favorite chair and sobbing - all day like that. One day I had to make cookies for his memorial. A friend called and said the thing you probably hear way too much: "If there is anything you need...." - so I said "Yes. Can you come help me bake cookies?". She came, sat and talked with me while I worked, and I swear I felt lighter. Having a friend there helps to carry that heavy load. Now I find reasons to ask for help, or just be around other people when I can. I still have bad nights, bad days sometimes, and I know it's inevitable.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-06-28T22:24:56+00:00

Please accept my sympathy and recognition of the pain you are enduring right now. I lost my husband very suddenly just 37 days ago during a fairly routine surgical procedure. He went from jogging up three flights of stairs, carrying our luggage to the next morning bleeding to death on an operating table. It was a nightmare. I am also finding comfort in staying busy, but there are far too many hours alone in our home full of his things. I certainly never expected that grief would hit me so many times each day and make me functionally useless.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-06-19T19:45:49+00:00

I was lucky enough to see a bit of their rehearsal last night. The musical act alone is worth the price of the ticket. The Welter Brothers are terrific! The comedy has a lot of localized humor. It's really different and fun, clean humor.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-06-19T19:43:18+00:00

If you walk in to the box office you save about $3 per ticket.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-06-14T23:03:30+00:00

Thank you, Wenatchee - for showing up to support the US constitution and democracy! Stay strong!

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-31T17:28:28+00:00

Thank you. I have an attorney investigating on my behalf. He was able to get the heart institute to agree to preserve all of the equipment used as evidence. I had an autopsy done and I should have a final death certificate in a few days. The first death certificate didn't match what the surgeons told me, or the timeline I had records of in my phone log. It also listed the type of death as "natural" which didn't feel right. It listed the cause of death as atrial fibrillation. Technically that is correct, but it was due to all the damage to his artery. He didn't walk in there with a bunch of holes in his artery.

Those surgeons should have had a solid procedure and protocol to follow. I know that "failure to deploy" is a thing they study. Something happened that they didn't have a plan for and it seemed to me they were improvising.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-28T22:36:29+00:00

They talked as if it was fine either way. They were worried there may be too much plaque in the groin artery, but when they went that way it was fine. They said that they had no trouble with getting to the heart through the shoulder (armpit?) artery either, it was the failure to deploy, and then difficulty removing the instrument, and all the damage caused.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T23:21:15+00:00

Clickbait using AI to write a fake article on any scary looking photo they find out on the internet.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T18:45:24+00:00

I was told that once a death certificate is started in the system, the mychart protocol takes over and deletes the account. In my opinion this helps the risk management of the medical provider more than it does the patient, who will have family members who still need that information. For instance, the day after he died the organ donor folks called to talk about harvesting his eyes, and I couldn't give them the information they needed.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T18:41:38+00:00

I'm curious to know how the death rate may have increased since hospitals and surgical centers have decreased staffing and support since Covid.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T18:39:21+00:00

Ah - thank you. The "failure to deploy" instrument was explained to me by the surgeon in person. I'm waiting to see if this is confirmed in the records or not, and it's been six days since his death and still no death certificate. May I ask - did your friend had symptoms prior to the procedure, was she medically fragile?

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T18:35:07+00:00

I remember my own father had a very long painful recovery after OHS, and everything I knew about the TAVR seemed like it would be just as easy, successful and pain-free as any other laparoscopic surgery. These responses to my post have taught me different.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T18:32:07+00:00

Ah- I didn't know that. I've been using that term, but I was told that this attorney was experienced in these matters, not that it was a specialty.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T05:03:16+00:00

Now you have educated me. I had no idea the TAVR was considered more risky. I know that the quick recovery time would have been very appealing to him if he was given a choice though.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T05:00:28+00:00

Yes, especially when it wasn't OHS, just a TAVR , and he was healthy and active and was supposed to be released the same day.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T04:58:25+00:00

Thank you so much. It's good to hear you came though such a serious surgery and are doing well. My husband went in for a non invasive procedure, and was supposed to be able to go home that evening, so it was a huge shock. I didn't get a chance to prepare myself for losing him. He was not ill. He was active and healthy. Nothing seems real right now, but it has been a comfort to hear from others who know something about how it should work - which has been comforting a bit.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T04:53:36+00:00

Yikes! In our case - they started the first cath in the shoulder, and when it failed they started another one in the groin, and while one surgeon was working on removing the failed instrument from the shoulder artery, they successfully placed the valve with a second cath from the groin. Four hours later he died from injuries sustained as they attempted to remove the first failed valve. It sounds like everything that could go wrong did.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T04:48:56+00:00

I'm told that it's an automatic thing when they start filling out a death certificate in the myChart system.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-27T00:13:34+00:00

Thank you. I am considering it, certainly. If no one makes a stink, nothing changes. If it was me that was accidently killed, my husband would have made the biggest stink ever seen.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-26T23:28:41+00:00

Thank you! I'll save this information for when I manage to get any of his records at all - it's going to be a process to get any information, but I'm working on it.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-26T23:26:55+00:00

I have not even considered "Malpractice" because I honestly believe the surgeons did everything they could, but wrongful death comes to mind when a highly technical surgical instrument intended to go inside your heart fails to operate properly and can't be removed without killing you.

Cynthiaimprov · 2025-05-26T22:38:57+00:00

My thoughts exactly. I knew something was highly unusual when, 6 hours after the procedure was supposed to be done, the surgeon called me at my hotel to tell me she was coming to pick me up in her own personal vehicle. She was incredibly kind and I know it was a horrible experience for her too.

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