POst op questions for spinal fusion- is this normal?

Hi,
My dad is on his first day post op of his spinal stenosis surgery. He has swelling in both eyes and skin missing from his nose. He thinks they may have dropped him.

The surgery was longer than expected by 2 hours. The doctor said this was the case because my dad had a really thick bone that took a long time to chip away. The doctor said they had to put in an extra cross bar where they removed that bone.

My dad thinks they dropped him post op and had to reopen him to fix damage caused by being dropped and thats why the surgery took longer and thats why he has facial injuries.

So, my question is did anybody who had this surgery receive any facial injuries? If you were dropped post op, do you think it could damage the screws or force a doctor to install a cross bar?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks
Bob

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

The anesthetist might have used a nasal tube and there is a possibility of stress of the surgery. There can be some reaction or side effects to the medications used.

Discuss this with the surgeon and see for any major swelling and bruises on his face.

There is a possibility of complications if the patient falls off after surgery and it is very difficult to comment as this depends on the height of fall and the position of the body during the fall.

Take care!

[puravida5613]

I think it was normal swelling. I called his regular doc and he said it happens sometimes.

Dad was quite drugged and over reacting. BY the time I got back to the hospital, he was raising hell. He felt awful after he finally realized they were telling the truth.

Thanks for the help!