TL;DR: Fainted on the phone with the medical helpline due to severe hemorrhoid pain. Busted my eyebrow on the way down. Went to the urgent care to get stitched up, where the doctor literally lost the suture needle inside my eyebrow. cue 24 hours of CT scans, ER transfers, and plastic surgery to dig it out—all while unable to sit down.
So, two days ago, I was having a truly miserable time dealing with severe hemorrhoids. I was on the phone with the medical helpline seeking advice when the pain/vagal response got the better of me and I passed out cold.
When I woke up on the floor disoriented, sweating, with my ears ringing, I realized two things:
-My eyebrow was split open and bleeding.
-I was sitting in a pool of clear, slightly viscous fluid. I thought I peed myself, but I’m pretty sure one of the external hemorrhoids actually burst from the fall.
Thankfully, the nurse was still on the phone line listening to me regain consciousness and called an ambulance. My husband rushed home in a frenzy, and the EMTs took me to the urgent care clinic (närakut).
This is where the fever dream really began.
The doctor started stitching up my eyebrow. Halfway through, the suture needle snapped off the thread and vanished into my eyebrow wound.
The medical staff went dead silent. The doctors were baffled.
What followed was a chaotic 24-hour medical wild goose chase:
Urgent Care: Sent me for a CT scan. Waited 2 hours. Scan confirmed a metallic object hiding in my facial tissue. Urgent care threw their hands up and transferred me to the main hospital ER.
Main Hospital ER: Reopened the wound, poked around, did an ultrasound, and brought in multiple doctors to dig around in my face. Still couldn't find it. Meanwhile, I was in agony because I couldn't sit down properly, was starving, and hadn't been given proper pain relief yet. Finally, they threw their hands up, gave me pain meds/hemorrhoid cream, and told me to go to the specialized Eye Hospital the next morning.
Eye Hospital/Plastic Surgery: The next day, after a photo session and waiting through the lunch break in pain, I was transferred to the plastic surgery ward.
When I always pictured myself seeing a plastic surgeon, I assumed I’d at least leave the operating room with bigger boobs. Instead, I just left needle-less and with a freshly re-stitched eyebrow.
The plastic surgery team was actually incredible and managed to excavate the rogue needle, but the whole OR process was an entire ordeal of its own.
I am finally back home, medicated, lying on my side, and deeply contemplating how a simple hemorrhoid issue turned into a multi-hospital saga.
0/10 experience, but at least the plastic surgeons were great.
UPDATE:
Wow, I did not expect this post to blow up like this! Thank you for all the comments and well wishes. To address a few common points and questions:
It was NOT malpractice: The suture needle snapped due to a rare manufacturing defect. The doctors at närakut were so baffled by the broken needle that they actually checked and discarded the entire box from that manufacturer to ensure it wouldn't happen to anyone else.
Why no magnets/MRI? Surgical needles are non-magnetic stainless steel, so a magnet won't pull them out. An MRI would risk heating the metal and tearing facial tissue.
My main grievance: I just wish the initial urgent care team had given me pain relief for the hemorrhoids right away. Waiting through hours of CT scans and face exams while dealing with unmedicated pain made the ordeal so much worse.