"My husband's poor experience with keyhole surgery"

My husband was due to have keyhole surgery earlier this month for frozen shoulder on his left arm. He is a type one diabetic and has already had surgery for frozen shoulder on his right arm.

He attended the Inverclyde hospital on Friday and was told that the op might not go ahead as he had an in-grown abscess on the left armpit. The surgeon, said they would assess it when he was in theatre and see what he could do. During the consultation the surgeon reminded my husband that he was not actually their patient but had been added to the list at the last minute by another surgeon.

It was explained that the abcess might need draining and they  might not be able to do the op due to risk of infection. When my husband came round he was in a huge amount of pain, his blood pressure was very low and he had to be given 4 morphine injections before he passed out. The operation did not go ahead, but there was nothing to drain from the abscess, instead the surgeon carried out the manual manipulation only and told my husband they would not give him a fit note as there was no operation to recover from.

My husband needs both arms to be fully functioning to work the job he does. As far has the surgeon was concerned my husband could go back to work on Monday. But that he needed antibiotics for the abscess and should see his GP for a fit note for a week and that  there was no need for a follow up on the shoulder as he will have full mobility and no pain. They also added frozen shoulder clears up on it's own in 3 years anyway so they didn't need to do anything.

My husband was left feeling very distressed and confused.  It felt like the surgeon was not interested in anything my husband had to say about his on-going health and that his past experience has shown that the manual manipulation would not work as the previous surgeon had said he would need a bit of the bone shaved as well as the manipulation to crack the shoulder. 

My husband has been experiencing a very difficult time with his diabetes and the on-going complications he has experienced- frozen shoulder on both sides, trigger finger operations on all fingers both hands and persistent infections and ulcers. The surgeon made him feel as though he was wasting staff time and that the surgery list for the day was already full, that is why the surgery did not happen.

When my husband was discharged, he was simply handed his antibiotics and told he could go , when I collected him outside the hospital he was still very groggy, in immense pain and a bit disorientated not too mention in a very low mood. This is not an acceptable level of care at all.