Karen Gruskin, MD

Dr Gruskin was dismissive, condescending and didnt even do an entire physical check of my daughters injury.

After developing severe wheezing and an difficulty swallowing, my 9 month old daughter came to the ER and was seen by Dr. Gruskin. She diagnosed croup despite no response to nebulizers or steroids and no cough. I repeatedly said that I felt like "something is in there", but was dismissed. We were admitted for two nights over which time the above treatments were continued, despite no improvement. We were sent home. That evening, my daughter stopped breathing and began to cough up blood. We called 911 and returned to the ER and again saw Dr. Gruskin who proceeded to tell me that it was NOT blood and that she must have coughed up motrin. I had blood on my shirt that I pointed out only to be told, "HAVING GONE TO MEDICAL SCHOOL, I can tell you that it is unlikely that she coughed up blood and even if she did, it wasnt anything serious." She continued steroids and nebulizers. There was no improvement. She said, "There are a lot of things people cough up that look like blood." My husband… asked her to name one, and she couldnt. She never even investigated as serious a symptom as coughing up blood because it did not fit into her preconceived diagnosis of "croup". My daughter continued to get worse. We were admitted and the next morning were told we were being sent home again. It was only when we insisted on a chest xray that it was discovered that my daughter had a button battery lodged in her esophagus. It was causing her to bleed and wheeze. It was causing her inability to swallow. We were immediately transfered to a higher level hospital where it was removed during emergency surgery. Unfortunately because it had been in there for so long (SIX DAYS) the battery had corroded and the battery acid had almost burned a hole through her esophagus. There was very significant damage to the mucosa, and in one area it burned entirely through the muscle. In fact, there was only a delicate, tissue-thin barrier between her esophagus and the rest of her chest cavity where the acid burned entirely through the mucosa and muscle. She had lost so much blood that she required a transfusion. My daughter now lies in PICU, intubated for her fifth day, totally sedated and unable to breathe on her own. She has had seven xrays, two barium swallows, a CT scan and will be having anotehr surgery tomorrow. She became septic after a tear in her esophagus lead to an infection in her thorax around her heart. She stopped breathing on Thanksgiving after a premature extubation and I held her as she gasped and turned blue, foaming at the mouth. There is a huge team of specialists working on her and she requires one-on-one nursing care. She is going to have to spend an additional two weeks at least inpatient after leaving ICU, and will have to relearn to swallow. She will have follow-up surgeries to dilate her esophagus so that the scar tissue does not narrow her esophagus too much. I am horrified that my daughter spent her first Thanksgiving the way she did, and will spend her first holiday season recovering from major trauma in the hospital instead of with her family for a totally preventable injury. Many doctors would do a simple chest xray for a nine-month old with wheezing and no cough right off the bat to rule out a foreign body, especially after the parent mentions that its a possibility. But not Karen Gruskin. She was incredibly condesending, rude and arrogant, refusing even to look in my daughters mouth when we were again in the ER for coughing up blood. She treated my husband and I like hysterical parents, and did not do the simplest most basic and standard test to rule out a dangerous accident. In her mind she had already diagnosed croup, and even after the clinical picture had many question marks and there was significant evidence to the contrary, she chose to talk down to her patients and imply that they were liars instead of simply ordering a chest xray that might prove her initial diagnosis to be incorrect. She did not take a full diagnostic picture, and was insufferably rude in the process. There is no reason for my daughters injuries to be as extensive as they are. Indeed, the only reason they are is because of one doctors arrogance. Its a big price for my daughter and our family to pay. If I sound angry, it's because I'm furious. But what do I know; I'm just a stupid mother who didn't go to medical school.