Surgical Colectomy Case Studies

Case study #1
A 44-year-old African American male had a partial colectomy to have a cancerous tumor removed. The patient did really well after surgery and was discharged from post op recovery to the surgical unit at a medical center. Approximately one hour after surgery, the patient complained of gas pain and shortness of breath. Providers failed to diagnose a pulmonary embolism that resulted in the loss of the patient’s life
A colectomy is an invasive surgical procedure that predisposes the patient to more complications because of the location of the colon and amount of medication involved with general anesthesia. Therefore, the patient should be observed closely during the procedure, and at least the first 24 to 48 hours after the procedure, and any complaint should be addressed immediately. According to the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program
Although, the patient did well after surgery, one hour later he was transferred to the medical unit, in my opinion the patient should have been in the intensive care unit until he could ambulate. Considering, the type of surgery performed, I would have obtained vital signs, assessed the lung sounds, check the oxygen saturation, and requested for stat chest X-ray and ECG. Most importantly, the stability of the patient’s condition is determined by the cardiac rhythm, and presence of arrhythmia or ischemia. Continuous