Man Wants Hospital to Remove Surgical Clip

I had gall bladder surgery 3 years ago and have been in pain ever since. The pain radiates outward from the exact location of the clips. I can't sit for any length of time or have anything pressing on my abdomen. Here is the thing, I told the nurse before the surgery that I had a metal allergy. She wrote it on my chart and on my hospital bracelet. Then the doctor came in and I told him I had metal allergies and he said no one was allergic to titanium and he did the surgery and put the clips in anyway. I have right sided edema, abdominal spasms, itching, fluid retention, hot burning pain in my ribs and into my back. I have had many tests all basically normal except that my gastric emptying rate was VERY VERY VERY slow, I am also enemic and my B-12 is low as well as whatever it is that stores Iron (can't remember what it is called right now) Endoscopy, colonoscopy,ERCP, MRI,Cat Scan, x-rays. It is at the point now where I can't even lay comfortably in bed and have to constantly shift to try to find a spot to lay on that doesn't hurt. My primary care doc is willing to send blood for allergy testing but it runs about 700$ and I am now without health insurance. So for now I suffer but if and when I can prove it is the clips. I will see the doctor in court. He was told and knowingly chose to go ahead and put clips in anyway.

Notice to name witheld on july 12, 2009. I believe that sometimes the metal titanium they use in surgery contains small amounts of other metals. You can obtain a blood test for titanium and various other metal through the following:
Fiona Barner
Office Manager, Melisa Diagnostics
1 800 650-7850
This pricing was 2 years ago so may be different now.
Pricing:
Standard basic panel:$365 10- metals,
(It is also possible to choose a custom panel for the same price, as long as it is 10 metals).
Advanced panel:$600
20 metals,
(Panel can be customized. Each additional metal:$30)
Custom panel:$280
1-5 metals (any you like)
(Each additional metal:$30)
Lyme panel:$380
Mold panel:$365

Yes, Judi B, I have been in contact with them and also found out to a 90% certainty which type of clip was used and it does contain trace amounts of several metals the most being Iron. I filled out the questionnaire and they agree that I should be tested, so now it is a matter of saving up to get it done. I am a single mom with 3 boys and make 200 dollars more a month than the medicaid cutoff so they want 790 dollars a month for health insurance. I can't afford that LOL. I pay cash for doctor visits and med's for myself and the boys. I figure at the latest, next tax season when I get my return back I will have it done. But the waiting and hurting sucks. I also ended up with a complete hysterectomy and in a separate incidence in the hospital for almost 2 weeks during the course of this. When the Doc did the Hyster she said I was full of brown goo. And the 2 weeks in the hospital I ended up with vomit and the runs and could not keep any food down and lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks. They never did figure out what was wrong, that is when the majority of those tests I mentioned before took place.

Robert Blackman wrote:

Did it ever occur to most of you to get a lawyer and sue these hospitals and doctors for letting unqualified people close a wound while the doctor is having a drink at the local bar?
I just found five clips in my the back of my leg from an operation nine years ago and one or two are pressing on a nerve which has bothered me for over 5 years because it moved to this location.
Tomorrow I will go to a doctor to verify they are surgical clips and then immediately go to a malpractice attorney the next day and start a law suit.
In that law suit will be pain and suffering for the last 5 years including the removal of all five clips.
This is more the doctors fault than the hospital for letting unqualified people close a wound. Wake up everyone and get a lawyer. Geez, this is a no brainer.

I find your response very inappropriate. It is standard operating procedure to leave surgical clips in after gall-bladder surgery. That seems to be a less-than-ideal solution for people with metal allergies (like I have) or other averse reactions. It doesn't always mean a lawsuit is the solution however. And your suggestion that this is just a slam dunk law case is highly annoying and doesn't contribute anything to a careful evaluation of whether the clips are the problem and whether a lawsuit is affordable, appropriate or winnable.

I,understand completely what everyone is going thru. I was 34 yrs old when I had surgery to have my left ovary removed. The dr.removed the wrong ovary and accidentally took out my appendix left surgical clips where the appendix used to be. He also left surgical clips where my right ovary used to be. I've been in pain everyday since that surgery in 2006 and the pain is constant.The quality of life well i have none. I've been trying to get clips removed and nothing the pain is horrible. It's as if I were put in a movie and sent straight to hell. I have no sympathy for dr's that lie and cause people to have to live in pain and then don't admit it. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I can do please let me know. This is hard on not only myself but my 11yr.old son and my husband.

Yes

I am so glad that i faund this site ,just faud out that there are 5 surgical clips left after 2 surgerys 3 in 1995 ,2 in 2000 ,i have number of health problems and now i know whay.My body is traying to cope wihth pices of metal that i am alergic to.My dr.told my that is normal and i should not wory,she is wrong and i am locking for a new DR. I have great respect for medical comunity but like the other patient wrote'if you make mastake admit it'dontlet us find this out 10 years later ,and ignor it,or make us fill lake we patient are craizy.I dont think going out of state or even out of contry would help ,or having loyer taking care of .Maybe i am delusonal but i will tray to find a DR. that will anderstand and help me,after 3 years and 6 DR. i faud compationet and exelent reumatologystDR.DR SKITH so i have not lost trust and hope.I will kipYOU all posted.Excuse my tiping +spelling ,just started to use the computer.Take care erebody and dont give up.NADIA

why was my comments regarding the removal of offending metal clips which i posted yesterday not added to above. Mirade

The metal clip everyone is referring to after gallbladder surgery is standard procedure. If the surgeon did not clip the open hole left after removing your gallbladder you would have the bile running into your body. Think of it as a dam! However, as many of you have said I just had gallbladder removal a month ago and I believe I am allergic to the clip also. Perhaps science has not come up with a hypo allergenic clip and may never since there is more to it for some than just an allergy it is their body litterally rejecting the foreign object. I am on a month's worth of antibiotics now and just finished two weeks worth prior...within two days of finishing the first antibiotics the pain was back in full force. I was also diagnosed with stage 4 cirrohosis (NOT alcohol or hepatitis related) so I can not take pain pills or my life will be even shorter! Again if anyone finds out new info please post and share ;-)
Female/38/Florida

Endangered Species wrote:

The metal clip everyone is referring to after gallbladder surgery is standard procedure. If the surgeon did not clip the open hole left after removing your gallbladder you would have the bile running into your body. Think of it as a dam! However, as many of you have said I just had gallbladder removal a month ago and I believe I am allergic to the clip also. Perhaps science has not come up with a hypo allergenic clip and may never since there is more to it for some than just an allergy it is their body litterally rejecting the foreign object. I am on a month's worth of antibiotics now and just finished two weeks worth prior...within two days of finishing the first antibiotics the pain was back in full force. I was also diagnosed with stage 4 cirrohosis (NOT alcohol or hepatitis related) so I can not take pain pills or my life will be even shorter! Again if anyone finds out new info please post and share ;-)
Female/38/Florida

In a case such as yours it seems to me that it would be worth the time trouble and pain for the surgeoun to open you up and suture the wound using stitches (the old fashioned way.) Have you checked into this?

I found out that I have a surgical clip in my body purely by accident five years after my gall bladder surgery. My daughter who is now 30 discovered the "neon object" in an x-ray that was being shown to me she asked the doctor, "what is that?", while pointing to the "neon object" and the doctor calmly replied, "it is a staple". I had no idea that it was in there. I asked if it could present a problem just floating around in there I was told no.

I had biopsy 8 yrs ago and had a titanium clip put in, didnt know the difference later had to have 2 lumpectomies and made them take the clip out, I felt safe, then 8 months ago went to another surgeon for an gallbladder operation and unknown to me until yesterday when i had to have a x ray this Dr also put a clip in me. She did not ask me or tell me, I bvelieve some of these { Clips} are tracking devices, and i don't want them!!!

I had my whole tyroid removed 4 years ago I kept feeling pain and a pinching feeling in my throat so I got xrays done they showed and read small metallic surgical clip in the superior mediastinum at the mid tracheal level my doctor told me it was not a problem should it be there and if so why was'nt I told it would be left in my throat? can anyone relate to this?

Bill wrote:

Why aren't you people asking your surgeon these questions instead of this web site? Or if you need a second opinion, go to another surgeon. Would you really trust the advice of strangers?????

Why are you posting anything Bill?

We`re asking YOU BILL! since you have all the answers...

i have a staple lodged im my stomach somewhere find out monday where. but my gyn is blaming my gall bladder doc that took it out by way of laproscopy,just dont no where it came from and why its there....

NORMA wrote:

I have had 3 clips left after having a hernia op. saw them on scan, asked dr to remove them he said was holding hernia in place could not remove them, am now attending pain clinic and been on morphine tablets , now on a diffferent one as morphine made me depressed and did not help these are not helping im on either the pain is as bad as the hernia and making my life hell i cannot bend or do things, its all in the area of the clips am at my wits end the quality of life is bad now, I feel so alone with this, also having problems with my bowls which i never had before this op have dificulitus they say, and have big problem with it never had before this op.either now telling me its my age?taken them 3 years to admit i am in pain.that is due to nerve damage they never mention clips until i said i had seen them on scan.dont know what to do ?

"THAT's unbelieveable that you say all this cause i had hernia surgery too about 4 years ago and now i have hip pain and on the xray they saw that they left a surgical clip in me and now it's in my hip. I have to see a orthopedic dr. to see if it needs to come out and if that's causing my pain. I am also having nerve damage pain in my foot too. Im also having an attorney working on this with me. Good Luck !

I had gall bladder surgery 3 years ago and have been in pain ever since. The pain radiates outward from the exact location of the clips. I can't sit for any length of time or have anything pressing on my abdomen. Here is the thing, I told the nurse before the surgery that I had a metal allergy. She wrote it on my chart and on my hospital bracelet. Then the doctor came in and I told him I had metal allergies and he said no one was allergic to titanium and he did the surgery and put the clips in anyway. I have right sided edema, abdominal spasms, itching, fluid retention, hot burning pain in my ribs and into my back. I have had many tests all basically normal except that my gastric emptying rate was VERY VERY VERY slow, I am also enemic and my B-12 is low as well as whatever it is that stores Iron (can't remember what it is called right now) Endoscopy, colonoscopy,ERCP, MRI,Cat Scan, x-rays. It is at the point now where I can't even lay comfortably in bed and have to constantly shift to try to find a spot to lay on that doesn't hurt. My primary care doc is willing to send blood for allergy testing but it runs about 700$ and I am now without health insurance. So for now I suffer but if and when I can prove it is the clips. I will see the doctor in court. He was told and knowingly chose to go ahead and put clips in anyway.

I just learned about a friend that also had surgery to remove her gall bladder and not long afterwards developed severe stomach pain especially after moving a certain way, nausea & vomiting every time she ate and she experienced weight loss. She almost died of starvation and electrolyte imbalance. After seeing many doctors and having many tests, a doctor prescribed a basic abdominal x-ray and after he reviewed it, told her she had 2 surgical clips on the gastric nerve. After surgery to remove the 2 clips all of the symptoms were relieved. You may have surgical clips on the gastric nerve that need to be removed.