My Child Is Having Trouble Speaking After Surgery. Is The Doctor To Blame?

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As parents, when we have to seek medical help for our child, we want the best. We hope that we have found the most qualified medical professionals to treat our child, and that the treatment is as effective and painless as possible. Sometimes that treatment is as easy as taking a prescription of antibiotics, but there are times when surgery is required to help our child return to good health. Preparing for a child’s surgery can be scary, and parents have to put their faith in the surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other surgical staff, that they will do their jobs correctly, and that the outcome will be positive. Fortunately, a positive outcome is usually the case in pediatric surgeries. However, there are times that a child suffers complications during surgery and the symptoms of those complications present themselves during the recovery process.

Why Is My Child Having Difficulty Speaking?

Imagine that when your child wakes from anesthesia or later at home from the hospital, he or she tries to talk to you but has trouble doing so; the speech is nonsensical or indecipherable. It’s a frightening thought, but it can happen. If your child has difficulty speaking or breathing after surgery, seizures, or headaches that last longer than a day, it might be an indication that he or she is suffering from a condition called hypoxia.

Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen to the brain that can be caused by complications due to anesthesia or surgical mistakes. If hypoxia isn’t treated immediately by administering oxygen to the child, it can result in anoxia, a much more serious condition in which there is a complete depletion of oxygen to the brain. The consequences of anoxia can be devastating for both child and parents, and can lead to brain damage in as little as 4 minutes. Seizures, coma, and brain death can follow if anoxia is not treated in time. Your first clue that these conditions might be present could be your child’s difficulty talking. If this occurs, you should seek medical help right away. If you are already home after your child’s surgery, call 911 immediately.

What Can I Do If My Child Had Hypoxia?

If your child, or someone you know, has had trouble talking after surgery, it could be due to hypoxia or anoxia. There may be a valid medical reason for the incidence of hypoxia after surgery, but it could also be caused by medical error. It is important that you consult a medical expert to make that determination.

Ross Feller Casey has doctors (who are also attorneys) on staff to make sense of what happened to your child. If, after a free consultation and review of your child’s medical records, our attorneys think you have a case of negligence or malpractice, they will support and guide you through the next steps. Our firm will be with you every step of the way, and we work on a contingency basis, so there is no charge to you until there is a financial recovery. Please contact us if your child has suffered any of the symptoms of hypoxia.

Disclaimer: Ross Feller Casey, LLP provides legal advice only after an attorney-client relationship is formed. Our website is an introduction to the firm and does not create a relationship between our attorneys and clients. An attorney-client relationship is formed only after a written agreement is signed by the client and the firm. Because every case is unique, the description of awards and summary of cases successfully handled are not intended to imply or guarantee that same success in other cases. Ross Feller Casey, LLP represents catastrophically injured persons and their families in injury and wrongful death cases, providing legal representation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.