Septic shock post surgery – feedback please
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Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it. I agree that the interventional radiology procedure to move the bile drain introduced bacteria into the bloodstream as things quickly changed at that point. I hope this is a rare situation and few others ever go through such an experience. I will definitely be educating my parents about the Bilary Emergency Card and perhaps look into an informational bracelet for my mom to wear.
Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
Kris…thank you for chiming in with this important information.
Thinking of you and sending tons of love your way.
Hugs,
MarionUnfortunately it can happen….and as Marion said sometimes with little or no warning. My husband was hospitalized three times…..twice three days after chemo and once three days after his port was placed. Each time his heart rate would go up, he would run a temp and you could see him kind of fold in on himself. Each time massive antibiotics got. My guess (and just a guess but as a nurse and having been through this too) is that when they were doing the intervention radiology part of things to fix the bile leak they introduced bacteria to her blood and that is what caused the sepsis (Sepsis is bacteria in the blood). We never really found a definitive cause for my husband’s they wanted to blame it on scar tissue in his liver but that was never found for sure. There was probably a who cascade of things that contributed to it. When a person is that sick the liver (and the kidneys too) have to work harder so the stress of that and the recent surgery may have caused the elevated ammonia level.
Make sure she has the biliary emergency card. She can be transferred to another hospital if needed to give her more advanced care. My husband usually started out in our local hospital but he was always transferred to the cancer center right away…..at my insistence.
KrisV
Thanks for the comments. Is the septic shock more common right after surgery or can this happen going forward at any time after bilary surgery? I see how important it is to carry the bilary emergency card suggested by the CC Foundation. I’m so fearful now of my mom not being close to a cancer center/sophisticated enough hospital that is equipped to treat this in such an emergency situation as the one she was in. Thankfully she’s doing well and has received excellent care but I’m so afraid of potential complications that go undetected.
momsrecovery……Although we don’t see it very often some have reported sudden septic shock due to biliary surgery or infections caused by infected stents. Not whether there is any way to predict this from happening.
Entering: septic shock in the “search function” will provide you with previous postings about this subject.
Hugs,
MarionI am happy to hear your mom has turned a corner and is improving. Sorry that she had to go through a bit of a setback. I am not able to give you much help, it seems that it was a sudden digression with little time to adjust. I hope that others can chime in and be of more help. Sending good thoughts for your mother, hugs and prayers for a quick recovery. Please keep us posted as to her progress.
MelindaMy mom’s klatskins surgery was successfully performed on 4/25 and she was discharged on 5/1 going home with her bile bag. Her hospital stay went as planned without any complications or lab results being grossly off. She had a heavy bile leak that came out of her stitched area twice during the middle of the night when she was first home. My parents drove back to the hospital in the morning. A CT scan was performed showing a collection of bile and it was drained by an interventional radiologist. Shortly after the draining was performed, she had trouble breathing and her blood pressure steadily declined. She went into septic shock and was intubated. She was then rushed to ICU where she’s been since then. She has also developed an infection near her lungs of the same bacteria as the bile bacteria and this has been treated with heavy antibiotics. This was drained the other day by an interventional radiologist and it continues to drain through the lung drainage tube. Her ammonia level was finally tested today and is elevated and being treated. My brother asked about having her ammonia level tested last week when my mom appeared a bit delirious but the doctors didn’t order it. They told us she needed more rest, was on heavy drugs, etc.
My mom has turned a corner this morning and things are looking very positive. Her breathing tube came out, she’s talking, getting her energy back and overall just looking better.
I have not read of a complication like this and I’m wondering how common it is. I know bile leakage is a potential issue with these surgeries but I’m amazed that there were no warning signs until it got to such an advanced stage. My mom is lucky to be in excellent shape and not have any medical issues that would have further compromised her beyond her liver not being fully functional.
Any feedback would be appreciated. I’d love to know if there are any issues we should be aware of/ask about so we can be on top of things at the hospital. I’m a big believer in being your own advocate. Thanks for listening.
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