A Preventable Tragedy?

I've sent Frank LoPiccolo a message imploring him to check into why Kathy didn't have a Greenfield Filter placed prior to surgery.  He stated in his message that she'd had blood clots prior to surgery.  If that is the case, why would her surgeon elect to operate on her without placing a filter first?  Just being over 400 pounds substantially raised her risk for the development of blood clots, not to mention her history of having clots prior to her surgery.  This just makes me angry, and I am so sad that her husband and son will have to live without her, all due to a tragedy that could have been prevented.  I don't want to invade this family's privacy during this grieving time, and I know this information will not change the outcome for Frank and his family.  Talking about this in a public forum may not be the best thing to do, but if it helps prevent this tragic event from happening to another family, then it's worth stirring up, don't you think? Kathy Gallagher

The filters have risks of increasing blood clots after a couple months, and they are difficult to remove. I too had a history of blood clots and after weighing the pros and cons decided against a filter. You can treat with drugs preventively, which would be my question to her poor husband...what kind of drug regimen was Kathy on? So sad....

It's probably no consolation, but I too had risks of complications due to my history of heart disease.  I had to weight the risk of surgery against it's benefits.  My risk for ulcer was about quadrupled due to all the cardiac meds I have taken over the years.  To date, I have not had any problems with bleeding, but I do have an ulcer.  I expected to get one but was willing to take the risk because without this surgery, I would be dead.  Monitoring my ulcer will be my job for the rest of my life, but I have LIFE.   I'm no doctor but I still believe the filter, in addition to post-op prophylactic blood thinners may have saved Kathy's life.  Maybe I'm wrong but my gut says this could have prevented.

I had a family history of blood clots and I tested positive for protein C deficiency so a greenfield filter was placed...this is so sad for Kathy and her family :( Thoughts and prayers... Shannon

This is absolutely NOT the proper place to discuss and/or debate the quality of Kathy's care and her specific situation.  I would suggest you send her husband a PRIVATE message, and then let him know that you may have some medical knowledge to offer. If he'd like to talk to you then he can. Let's just use this as a forum to remember Kathy...what a good mom, friend, wife she was and leave it at that.  When a respectable amount of time has passed maybe then we can disucuss in general terms the risks of surgery.  I believe we were all just casual acquaintences of Kathy's, so we do not have first hand knowledge of what happened to her medically.  If her husband needs legal or medical advice he knows where to find it. I understand you believe you're helping...but second guessing what happened when we do not have all of the facts is not going to help anyone.