My 81-year-old father went to the hospital on 6/24 to have his nephrostomy tube removed (2nd attempt). He had bled for the entire 3 weeks he had the tube and it turns out that an artery had been nicked in the kidney either from the wire inserted as a guide or by the tube itself. The bleeding was not going to stop on its own so they had to do an arteriogram going in through the groin into the artery and to the kidney where they used contrast to find the leak and then seal it off. Good news is the bleeding stopped. Bad news is they had to leave the tube in and Dad also got an infection which has required him to be in the hospital for 3 nights now! They are giving him Zosyn every 6 hours and Vancomycin every 24 hours because he had been diagnosed with a MRSA during his last hospital fiasco.
Dad was all set to be dismissed the morning after his "procedure that never happened" snd the nurse even took the IV out. This was the same IV that it took 3 different nurses 4 sticks to get in! Turns out Dad was running a fever of 101 when they checked him that morning so the docs weren't going to dismiss him. This means he has to get a new IV inserted. His arms look like he has been in a battle what with IV attempts and all the blood draws!
He is still in the hospital as of tonight and is scheduled to be released tomorrow depending on what, if anything, grows on the cultures. The internist that the radiologists brought on to the case to manage the infection will make the decision to let him go or not in the morning. From what we've been told (and experienced!) you do not want to be in the hospital on the weekend if you can help it. Doctors don't seem to hang around on the weekends and it is difficult to get anything done.
Dad had just received 2 units of blood on 6/17 which had raised his hemoglobin level to 10 (still low). As of today, the hemoglobin had dropped to 9.3. The doctors say this could be because of the fluids he's getting and because he bled during all the things they did to him. Shutting down that renal artery means he has less blood supply to that kidney, but the radiologist who did the procedure said that Dad lost only a very small percentage of kidney function. Maybe if the doctor who inserted the original tube had not fouled up and knicked that artery, Dad would still have ALL his kidney function and a lot more of his blood!
Dad is frustrated and not too happy that he has to go back, once again, to get the nephrostomy tube removed. It's supposed to be a simple procedure but I no longer believe there is any such thing as a simple procedure, especially when it comes to my Dad! The last three "out patient procedures" he has gone in for have turned into AT LEAST one night in the hospital.