Dr. Mark Phillip Macfarlane, MD

I had laproscopic surgery on a Tuesday afternoon. From what I understand, surgery went smoothly. However, my release from the recovery room was delayed because my Oxygen stats were eratic. The stats continued to be an issue so hours later, the recovery room personnel sought special permission to transfer me to my own room w/oxygen later that evening. The next morning, Wednesday, my daughter, an RN,expressed concern and through my husband suggested he (the doctor) order a spiral CT scan to determine whether or not a blood clot was the problem. Dr. Macfarlane chose to ignore the suggestion and told my husband, "I don't believe a blood clot (pulmonary embolism) is the problem...those generally don't appear till day 3 or 4..." I had extreme pain and difficulty breathing. I was frightened and so was my family. My condition remained the same until after he finally ordered a spiral CT scan Thursday afternoon--nearly 40 hours after problmes began to appear. (This was the same test my… husband-thru our daughter--had tried to persuade him to order on Wednesday a.m.) The test immediately revealed multiple blood clots in both lungs. What is even more troubling, the Monday before my surgery I faxed him a letter advising him of the two previous occasions when blood clots had been an issue. I felt it was important he know that. He either never read that fax or did not recognize that because of my history of blood clots, precautions needed to be taken and blood thinners administered before or during surgery to minimize the formation of blood clots. (I learned this later.) He didn't know what the problem was, discounted a nurse's recommendation of what needed to be done and apparently did not seek anyone's opinion of what was needed until Thursday, nearly 48 hours after my surgery and problems had already developed. I know he received the fax because I asked the nurse who was prepping me for surgery if it had arrived and was with my records. She told me, "Yes, it's right here on top." Dr. Macfarlane's remark "Blood clots generally don't appear until day 3 or 4..." was a clear indication that he lacked experience with blood clots. His lack of experience with a very serious complication resulted in placing this patient at great risk. In the real world, blood clots can appear at any time, and he failed to recognize what was happening. If he didn't know what was wrong, he should have sought the advice of a pulmonologist earlier than he did. I think this doctor is a very nice person and did not intend me harm, but his inexperience in this particular matter placed the patient at risk.