Infection after thoracic aneurysm rupture repair

Posted by lsayadova @lsayadova, Aug 12, 2022

My mom had a rupture back in June that she survived thanks to surgery. She was in a skilled nursing facility to learn how to walk again. The past few weeks she complained of pain and was rushed to the er this past week. Her vitals were all fine but we knew something wasn’t right. She previously had a stroke so she has aphasia and right side weakness. I went with her and shared all of this with the docs in the ER. The ER docs had vascular and nuero come in, both cleared her of anything “vascular / nuero related.” Although, the er doc noted an air sack next to the stent from her repair that was concerning.
They chalked this up to a uti and thought we’d be okay with this diagnosis. We continued to demand mri’s and ct scans because something wasn’t right. So three days later, Turns out, this “air sack” has since started growing and is now likely an infection. Her vascular surgeon told us it’s too risky to operate and that she “shouldn’t have survived the rupture.” Ultimately telling us we’re lucky she survived this long. We won’t accept this, ive since demanded more testing and another set of eyes. Oh, and today we learned she had another stroke while in the hospital. I will not stop fighting for my mother. Today we had a consult with the Cleveland clinic for their opinion. I’m disgusted by the level of care she’s received. I hope nobody ever has to go through what she went through. She’s only 63!!!

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Where was the aneurysm repaired?

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Hello @lsayadova and welcome to Mayo Connect! You have certainly been a wonderful advocate for your mother. I appreciate the attention you have given her and the proactive way you have dealt with the doctors.

You mentioned a consult with Cleveland Clinic. Have there been any new thoughts as a result of that consult?

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I got a letter from the hospital a year after the operation saying they were having problems with the blood warming machine(?) Something about cleaning the machines/

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