I was bathing my 3 week old baby and noticed a big lump just above her vagina, it was about the size of a grape. I had no idea what it was but my gut instinct told me it was serious and she was in a lot of pain so i took her straight to the docs.
Got into the room, pointed at the lump and asked what it was and why would it be causing her so much pain before putting her nappy back on. He then started waffling on and talking at me for about ten minutes about her nappy rash and how i shouldnt use sudocrem on it?? I mean i know in a young mum (17) but why the hell would i take her to the doctor's for an emergency appointment about a tiny bit of nappy rash?!
I corrected him anyway and said 'no, actually i was talking about the huge grape sized lump' he looked at it and proceded to poke and wiggle it around while my daughter was screaming her little heart out, it was obviously extremely painful for her. He tried to poke it in but it wouldn't go back in, he then told me it was a hernia and it was fine, just to bring her in in a few days if she carried on being unsettled and she would probably get surgery at about 6 months old.
I wasn't happy with this response and felt he was fobbing me off and not taking me seriously so i rang my mum and we took her to a&e.
We got seen straight away and the hernia had got bigger and redder and she was screaming, the doctor's face when she saw it confirmed my thought that it was serious and she got the head pediatrician straight away.
We were taken to a room where she was x-rayed and they tried to get a line in her for morphine as the hernia was strangulated and wouldn't go back in. They couldn't get a line in so decided to have the last try at getting the hernia back in and luckily after a lot of effort it went in and her pain went away, otherwise we would have been transfered to another hospital for emergency surgery.
We asked the head pediatrician if the doctor should have sent us to hospital straight away and he said although it was hard to criticize colleagues that yes he should of done. Someone with a lump sticking out if there tummy that wouldn't go back in should be sent to a&e straight away be it an adult, child or baby because when its a strangulated hernia the bowel can die and then cause internal gangrene.
we were then scheduled for surgery in a weeks time and sent home but the next day it popped back out and wouldn't go back in so we went by ambulance from a&e to another hospital for emergency surgery. She is ok now 2 weeks later but it was a terrifying experience and it turned out she also had another smaller one on her other side which was also operated on.
I am just so angry at this doctor, what if i had trusted him and not took her to a&e? She might not be here. He also mis diagnosed my uncle for 2 years when he kept going to the doctors feeling unwel and said it was all in his head, turned out he had terminal prostate cancer which is why i didn't trust what he had told me and took her to a&e. Sorry about the long post i just needed to get that off my chest and see what others would do in this situation, will complaining make any difference?