YET ANOTHER LAS VEGAS MEDICAL NIGHTMARE – TOMAS KUCERA
After receiving treatment from Tomas Kucera, on September 17, 2018 my wife of 41 years was admitted to the St. Rose ER in Henderson, NV, with an initial diagnosis of “septic shock” and kidney failure. At the time she was on Cosentyx, an immunosuppressant, for psoriasis.
I was on a rare trip away from her, rendezvousing with law school buddies in Park City, Utah.
She had received bilateral epidurals on September 5 from Tomas Kucera, a pain/anesthesiologist “doctor”, who at the time worked for Dr. Michael Crovetti, an orthopedist who advertises almost as much as Las Vegas lawyers. Kucera also prescribed neurontin and diclofenac, a very strong NSAID, so strong that you only need to take one every 24 hours.
THE PARADE OF SPECIALISTS
During the course of her 5 day stay at St. Rose, she saw:
- The ER hospitalist (an internist) who said she should never have been given any epidural while on an immunosuppressant such as Cosentyx.
- A nephrologist (kidney specialist)
- An infectious disease specialist, who also said no more epidurals while on Cosentyx, but ruled out infection after several CAT scans and MRIs.
- Her spinal surgeon (laminectomy X 5 in 2017)
- An oncologist (who initially thought she had lymphoma)
I was in hell, contemplating life without my High School sweetheart, the mother of our four children and nine grandchildren.
She was ultimately released without a diagnosis 4 days later.
THE CAUSE OF MY WIFE’S NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE
Finally, when our family doctor, Gautham Reddy, saw her following her discharge – he immediately seized upon diclofenac, the NSAID prescribed by Kucera as the cause of her kidney failure.
It appears that KUCERA, only performed a medically inadvisable epidural, but also prescribed a drug which had been the subject of a very recent FDA warning, to the effect that it could cause “catastrophic organ failure in patients with a compromised immune system.” All while she was on the biologic Cosentyx (prescribed by her dermatologist, which does in fact suppress the immune system).
P.S. Over the 5 day nightmare, Kucera never even bothered to visit the hospital for his input, nor did he return a call from me advising him that my wife was hospitalized in extremis. I wonder why? In legal terms, I would suggest “consciousness of guilt” as the reason.
I’M NO DOCTOR, BUT…
Here’s some medical research I’ve done:
“Considering its cardiovascular and gastrointestinal risks, however, there is little justification to initiate diclofenac treatment before other traditional NSAIDs.”
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“The inhibitors in Diclofenac act on the entire body which may result in preventing some organs from their proper function… Diclofenac may also cause ulcers, bleeding, or holes in the stomach or intestine. These issues may develop at any time while taking the drug, can happen without warning or any apparent symptoms and can be life-threatening… In 2006, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that Diclofenac posed similar risks for cardiac arrest or stroke as those associated with the well known NSAID, Vioxx. It also advised that Diclofenac should not be prescribed to patients with heart disease or high blood pressure.”
https://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/dangerous-drug-diclofenac
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“NSAID use has also long been associated with kidney disease, resulting in both acute and chronic impairments in kidney function. These complications prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release a scientific statement in 2005 emphasizing “the importance of using the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration possible if treatment with an NSAID is warranted for an individual patient… It is often noted that potentially serious GI complications commonly develop with no clinical warning symptoms suggestive of ulcers or bleeding. However, although NSAID users report increased frequency of various symptoms including reflux, belching, bloating, and/or nausea compared with nonusers, these symptoms do not reliably indicate the presence of significant upper GI mucosal injury,31 which includes ulcers, bleeding, perforation, obstruction, and extensive erosions.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4310346/
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“One of the most recognized adverse effects of NSAIDs is nephrotoxicity. Inhibition of COX can lead to renal impairment and dysregulation of water and electrolyte homeostasis. COX-2 inhibitors appear to have similar renal effects as nonselective NSAIDs and do not offer any renal safety benefits over nonselective NSAIDs.”
http://thescipub.com/pdf/10.3844/amjsp.2012.115.123
EPILOUGE
Elyse recovered from the kidney failure/septic shock that put her in the hospital for 5 days, however her back issues continued to worsen. Any time you mess around with the spine that is a risk, and the Kucera acknowledged this when he saw her a few days afterwards (and prescribed the Diclofenac which undoubtedly caused her kidneys to fail).
I am continually astounded by the horrendous medical care, and lack of oversight, in Las Vegas.
And oh, BTW, should you decide to sue a doctor…….. good luck. Nearly every lawyer in La$ Vega$ will tell you there is some kind of personal or professional conflict. That is, “we’re both charter members of the Good Old Boys Club.”
