

Burst appendix/peritonitis in 3 year old - urgent advise

(34 Posts)
jaabaar Tue 04-Jun-13 23:44:36


My 3 year old dd just came home after surgery for perforated appendix.
I had no access to info on net in hospital.

Have read a bit now and I'm getting very upset.
All the treatments I read she should have had it was not followed. Also I was only told by the 3 rd doctor that the appendix had actually burst.

Is anyone on here who can give me advise?

Where shall I go with my questions? Gp? If I make emergency app they will only see me 2 min?

I'm very worried abt this and feel I was not informed. Please help me with some advise.

Thank you

jaabaar Fri 14-Jun-13 18:10:29

Thank you mignonette. That is what I did as sometimes in hindsight one can remember distorted facts. Hospital told me to call today if I didn't hear from them, so I did. Doctor told me a revised letter is in the post. I'm going to wait and see. Thank you for your advice.

Ragusa I am from graubunden! I'm from the first village on the river Rhein called Sedrun! It is a slice of heaven on earth! Hope you enjoyed your stay!

mignonette Fri 14-Jun-13 15:23:08

Write down a chronological list of everything that happened, when it happened, what you saw, heard and what actions were taken and by whom.

You will need this if you request a meeting with her surgical team or via PALS. It will help you organise your own thoughts and raise concerns in a calm and objective manner. Write down where you think their summary is wrong and what is wrong about it.

Yes, the notes need to be correct but sadly a great many medical/nursing notes are not.

Ragusa Fri 14-Jun-13 15:15:49

Aha, well, I have been to Graubuenden a lot - specifically Klosters and Davos. Heard Romansch around and about. Don't understand any of it though!

jaabaar Fri 14-Jun-13 14:01:11

Where in Switzerland have u been? smile

jaabaar Fri 14-Jun-13 14:00:12

Ragusa is a very nice swiss chocolate! I'm very very surprised that you know the romantsch language? It is my mother tongue and whenever I tell someone my mother tongue they have no clue what it is as we are a minority.

Ragusa Fri 14-Jun-13 11:55:08

No....English. but I have been to lovely Switzerland many times if that helps smile

Is Ragusa a swiss german or romantsch word? I just picked it because I love Dubrovnik and Ragusa's the old name for it.

jaabaar Fri 14-Jun-13 11:27:08

Thank you Ragusa.

Thank you to all who have given advise. I appreciate.

Ragusa are u swiss?

Ragusa Thu 13-Jun-13 23:30:21

I don't think you're being unreasonable about the incorrect notes at all. They should be amended as you say.

So glad your DD is ok. How terrifying for you all.

jaabaar Thu 13-Jun-13 23:04:09

Thank you LizzyP1

Just wanted to be sure that I'm not over the top.... And stating that appendix was perforated and peritonitis is quite a big thing to leave out.

Thank you.

My dd is finally fully back to her happy self!

LizzyP1 Thu 13-Jun-13 20:47:14

You are right.. The main thing is that your DD is ok. But I think you need to speak to Hosp and find out what on earth is going on.. Having correct details is super important. If it were me I would contact them (I'd probably actually go to the ward) and ask them to clear up their mistakes.

bemybebe Mon 10-Jun-13 23:38:24

I would certainly demand an explanation for what you thing are wrong entries.

It is important to get the full picture right.

jaabaar Mon 10-Jun-13 23:20:36

Ohhhh bemusebe got auto corrected above... Apologies...

jaabaar Mon 10-Jun-13 23:19:52

Bemuse be
Thank you for your kind words. I was not going to raise any comments with hospital as I over exaggerated in my previous posts as the final result is that she is fine and they actually saved her life!
So I calmed down.... And got this letter today.

Do you think it is reasonable to expect corrected details? I just want to make sure her history is as per facts. And leaving out peritonitis I thing is not insignificant. Right?

bemybebe Mon 10-Jun-13 23:16:03

<And sorry for the typos.>

bemybebe Mon 10-Jun-13 23:14:39

OMG Jaabaar, how much one parent can get? I am so sorry you are going through all of this.

Can you please check that this is the correct discharge summary for the right child. (I was discharged once with the details of the wrong patient).

Make a call into the ward to find what happened to the meds - maybe the discharge nurse did not pass them to you. It is shit, but it does happen (also speaking from person experience). If non are available, make an emergency appointment with the gp and discuss with them =ask them to prescribe.

May a call to PALS - patients liaison.

Be strong. Get sleep. It is a mess but you will sort it out and your family will be ok, the worst seems all behind now.


jaabaar Mon 10-Jun-13 23:07:08

Im at odds again. Receive letter with discharge summary. 80% of details are wrong. It states that she had appendix without complications (it perforated and she had peritonitis).

It states she was operated same day (she was operated next day)

It states her urine was ok (her nappy was red with blood)

It states she passes normal stool without blood (in fact she didnt have a bowel movement at all

It states they gave her oral antibiotics on 5th day (did not happen)

It states antibiotocs prescribed to take home (i didnt get them)

.....and so the list goes on. Im did not want to complain abt anything after i got a good nite sleep, but surely her medical records should be correct???

jaabaar Wed 05-Jun-13 11:03:48

Thank you all for the comments. They all make sense. I just need to catch up with sleep. Im happy they saved her.

The surgeon said that she could have died within 24 hours without operation as the infection was in her system.

They diagnosed appendix on a thursday around 2 in the afternoon. She was operated on friday at 4 in the afternoon.

jaabaar Wed 05-Jun-13 11:02:19




OP you're clearly very upset by this experience and that's absolutely understandable. I would caution though against too much googling.
If you contact PALS at GOSH they can liase with the surgical team and go through the notes with you so you can see the decisions that were made.
Recovering from a hospital stay is something that parents need to do as much as a child does. It can be very scary and when you're in the midst of it you don't have time to reflect on every aspect. Then when you get home it all catches up with you a bit. Try and focus on your little girl. She's been discharged well, if anything changes go straight to your GP, but she's ok.

Souper Wed 05-Jun-13 07:36:03

What time in the day did you arrive at GOS and what time did she have the surgery, OP?

Souper Wed 05-Jun-13 07:30:52

She would have been given the antibiotics before surgery IV by the anaesthetist in the anaesthetics literally moments before she went into theatre so they were in her blood stream when surgery was happening

lougle Wed 05-Jun-13 07:16:06

If you give too much pain relief it can mask the severity, of the illness.

They took her to the most appropriate hospital.

Peritonitis is the same as any other illness. You can have it mildly or extensively. If the appendix had just split moments before, then the spoilage would be easily contained. The surrounding area would have been thoroughly washed out and IV antibiotics given during surgery.

If your DD is well in herself, that's a good indication that there isn't residual infection. If she becomes poorly in any way, you need to contact your gp.

Peritonitis is just a word that describes inflammation of the peritoneal cavity, it doesn't indicate severity in itself.

jaabaar Wed 05-Jun-13 07:04:56

Panadol didn't help and my dd was in great great pain, all she was able to talk to me for those hours were the words:
No mummy, no mummy, no mummy! Over and over sgain

SoYo Wed 05-Jun-13 01:50:54

Peritonitis is inflammation of the lining of the abdomen caused by spilt blood, bowel contents or pus & it can be very serious but with a burst appendix once the appendix is removed & the bit of bowel next to it checked & closed the abdomen is washed out & usually the peritonitis is fully treated. It is standard to give antibiotics at the time of surgery but very debatable about giving them before. I believe the latest guidance is only to give if surgery is likely to be delayed greater than 24hrs. There's generally no point taking a blood count immediately after surgery as the inflammation caused by the surgery itself will cause it to be falsely high & it can take a few days before it starts falling. As for pain relief it completely depends how much pain your child appeared to be in & how much paracetamol helped.

Hope this helps.

jaabaar Wed 05-Jun-13 01:09:17

Before surgery they gave her only Panadol! Of course after surgery she was on morphin and paracetamol. I believe they should have given something stronger from 8 in the evening until afternoon next day or if they clinically can't they should at least have explained!

The only advise I got is to take her to gp if fever is higher then 38.

I believe that I had the right to know how serious peritonitis is. Just my strong personal opinion.

Antibiotics: she was planned to be on iv antibiotics till Wednesday. Her iv needle came off Tuesday morning so they said they will not put her through pain of another iv needle and send us home early with 2 day worth of oral antibiotic.

The nurses have been absolutely amazing, loving, patient and caring with her.

I just feel that I should have been given more info

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