Nightmare childbirth at Hoag with Dr. Mercedes Sayago and Alex Deyan

[dliberty]

Sorry to hear. Wow that is incredible.  I saw my wife's Obgyn every time there was an appointment.  Hoag was great for both of our kids.  The Obgyn we had wasn't available but another dr from the office came instead.  It's just crazy to hear that it doesn't always go that way.  Praying that your wife and son recover from this.  You need to take some action.

I've complained to the medical board and to Hoag directors. I've also reached out to several lawyers but it seems our state is very hostile to medical lawsuits and the doctors have their asses covered from all directions. When there are no consequences it's no wonder there are doctors out there who behave this way.
To add insult to injury, the OBGYN who never showed up is on my son's birth certificate. What a joke.

 

[WTTCHMN]

The fact that you've complained to the medical board, Hoag, and a bunch of lawyers yet no one seems interested is very telling.  It certainly makes me question certain aspects of your story and explains why you have resorted to bashing on an anonymous internet forum.  Tread carefully or you might find yourself defending a lawsuit against you for public slander.

 

[dliberty]

The fact that you've complained to the medical board, Hoag, and a bunch of lawyers yet no one seems interested is very telling.  It certainly makes me question certain aspects of your story and explains why you have resorted to bashing on an anonymous internet forum.  Tread carefully or you might find yourself defending a lawsuit against you for public slander.

My story is 100% true and accurate and I stand behind it. I have everything documented and recorded.
1. Our OBGYN doctor was not present at our birth and there is no question about that. Any hospital nurse would testify to that as well as the doctor herself. I have a letter from Hoag confirming this as well. She was also not present for most of our prenatal appointments, as I'm sure her own personal records would show (unless she altered them which is a felony).
2. My wife needs reconstructive surgery as confirmed by two top rated and well-known OBGYNs in OC.
The first used the word "sloppy" when referring to the stitches, the second was more careful and said "they were put in too tight for you".
3. My son needed resuscitation when he was born, as documented in the hospital medical records that I have copies of. The same records show my wife was given an oxygen mask and Dr. Sayago prescribing medication over the phone.
4. When I called Dr. Deyan's office to complain, his secretary told me "I completely agree with you and if you need to contact a lawyer I'm on your side". She gave me her personal e-mail address. I believe that says something about him as a doctor doesn't it?
5. I have a follow-up email from the Executive Medical director at Hoag stating:
"I have shared your concerns and recent email communications with Hoag leadership in the Medical Staff and Performance Improvement departments, including our Chief of Staff. We take your perspective very seriously and will make every effort to look into the issues you raise."

I also have a second letter from Hoag confirming that they have started an investigation and have concluded that there "may be improvements", and are also transferring my case to their quality assurance department.
That same letter also suggests that I contact the California Medical Board, if reading between the lines.

I will be posting both letters on my blog shortly. The fact that a lawyer isn't interested does not invalidate the authenticity of my story. Notice that I also never claimed there was malpractice, just very poor level of care in my personal opinion. Every reader can judge for themselves but everyone I've spoken with is shocked.
Lawyers aren't interested in cases where it's hard to prove permanent damage, simple as that. As a matter of fact, here's a response I recently received from a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice:
"Medical malpractice cases are very difficult in California. Our state has the most restrictive law in the nation. We lose 95% of these cases at trial. There is a severe restriction in the available monetary damages and attorney's fees are greatly reduced. These cases are very expensive to maintain because doctors have to be retained as experts on issues of standard of care and causation of damages. Cases without permanent injury are routinely rejected by lawyers."

As far as the medical board goes, I've just recently filed the complaint so most likely they haven't even started looking into it yet. Rest assured I will be posting back on any results I get back from them if and when that happens.

Based on all this, I find it both strange and offensive that you've concluded that "no one seems interested" or that my story is questionable. I'm sure you would have wanted to share your story if your wife and son were treated the way mine were. I don't think I've resorted to any bashing, if I did I'd have far worse things to say. I don't see how stating the facts and sequence of events as they occurred during our birth can be considered slander. I would be happy to defend every single claim I've made in court if it comes to that. Otherwise I believe I'm entitled to post a review and share my experience with others.

 

[bones]

Actually I think OP does a very good job avoiding a SLAPP lawsuit of any kind with his word selection. What still puzzles me is why he and his wife didnt switch doctors after never seeing the dr during appointments.  Makes no sense to me.

 

[dliberty]

Actually I think OP does a very good job avoiding a SLAPP lawsuit of any kind with his word selection. What still puzzles me is why he and his wife didnt switch doctors after never seeing the dr during appointments.  Makes no sense to me.

To be honest, we thought it was standard care to see a nurse practitioner for the prenatal appointments. Only later we had learned it wasn't supposed to be that way.

 

[rkp]

irvinedreaming - i read your blog post and am sorry you went through that.  its good to share your experience.  doctor review sites struggle with lack of reviews.  a yelp or tripadvisor site on doctors would be really great. 

i can understand why they didn't change doctors.  unless you know otherwise, why would anyone thinking that seeing a nurse practitioner isn't standard practice? 

 

[socal123]

I'm a doctor on staff at Hoag and my wife is a nurse there. All 3 of our children have been delivered at Hoag.

I'm aware of Dr Deyan and I would not pick him to deliver our children, however in this instance he did nothing wrong. In fact he probably saved the life of your baby and your wife.  You have absolutely no basis for a lawsuit.  His beside manner sounds terrible but his medical care was appropriate. And jaundice in the newborn is extremely common and has nothing to do with the OB doc.


IMO anybody who has a baby at home or in a "clinic" is crazy.  If something goes wrong, and it often does time is of the essence.

 

[socal123]

and it is very common to see nurse practitioners for routine office visits.  If you didn't like it you could have simply switched OB docs way before birth. I'd say 90% of OB docs use nurse practitioner of PAs in the office for routine visits.

 

[Irvine Dream]

I'm a doctor on staff at Hoag and my wife is a nurse there. All 3 of our children have been delivered at Hoag.

I'm aware of Dr Deyan and I would not pick him to deliver our children, however in this instance he did nothing wrong. In fact he probably saved the life of your baby and your wife.  You have absolutely no basis for a lawsuit.  His beside manner sounds terrible but his medical care was appropriate. And jaundice in the newborn is extremely common and has nothing to do with the OB doc.


IMO anybody who has a baby at home or in a "clinic" is crazy.  If something goes wrong, and it often does time is of the essence.

I am surprised that a Doctor will conclude that Dr. Deyan did nothing wrong because the OP indicated that he didn't come on time and his stitch work was described as sloppy by other Doctors.

 

[dliberty]

I'm a doctor on staff at Hoag and my wife is a nurse there. All 3 of our children have been delivered at Hoag.

I'm aware of Dr Deyan and I would not pick him to deliver our children, however in this instance he did nothing wrong. In fact he probably saved the life of your baby and your wife.  You have absolutely no basis for a lawsuit.  His beside manner sounds terrible but his medical care was appropriate. And jaundice in the newborn is extremely common and has nothing to do with the OB doc.


IMO anybody who has a baby at home or in a "clinic" is crazy.  If something goes wrong, and it often does time is of the essence.

Your first statement about where you and your wife work is irrelevant. If anything, you probably received special treatment for being staff members. Your second statement is a strawman argument.
It almost sounds like you think I should thank Dr. Deyan for even showing up or doing his job as a doctor.
Ever heard of the phrase "any port in a storm"?

My main complaint is that my wife was left in labor for 22 hours without seeing an OBGYN. Her doctor was giving instructions and medication over the phone. As a doctor at Hoag, do you consider that "normal" care? Would you have wanted your wife and kids to be treated that way, with remote care?
If I called your office and told you I wasn't feeling well, would you prescribe medication based on my description alone and without seeing me? Some members here mentioned that no pushing was done until a doctor got in the room. My wife was pushing for 2 hours before Deyan entered the room.
The other question that begs to be asked is whether a doctor could have identified earlier that the baby wasn't going to come out right, perhaps by say, using an ultrasound?

The fact you think it is common to see nurse practitioners during pregnancy or that Deyan did nothing wrong just strengthens my opinion to stay far away from Hoag and their doctors.

 

[socal78]

My wife was pushing for 2 hours before Deyan entered the room.

Irvinedreaming, in my experience, this is normal. I've been part of a pregnancy & parenting forum online for 14 years. More often than not, that is what people say happens when they share their birth stories from across the country. It is also true to my own experience as well. I delivered my babies at St. Jude in Fullerton. The nurses do all the real work. The doctor will glove up and show up just in time to catch the baby. With my first baby, I also pushed for 2 hours before it was time for him to make an appearance although he did pop in just to say, "Hey" briefly. Same routine the next time.

I think it's important to recognize that as a first-time parent, it is normal to feel surprised at how differently things actually go than they did in your imagination. The first few lines of your blog post say, "Childbirth. One of the most wonderful moments of life. For most people, it's a day they'll remember for rest of their lives." --- This is a romanticized representation of childbirth. In reality, childbirth can be complicated, messy, scary, painful, and fraught with unexpected emotions, particularly for a 1st timer as you wade into unfamiliar waters. "She hadn't even discussed a birth plan with us." -- That is another thing which caught my attention. Birth plans are a relatively newer thing parents are doing. Not all doctors like their patients to create one because it can set up rigid expectations. The important thing is to remain flexible so you have a healthy mom and a healthy baby. Many moms and dads discard their own birth plan once the "shit gets real"! I've seen birth plans that say: "No epidural. Absolutely no episiotomy. Will labor on a birthing ball. Will hold the baby until the umbilical cord stops pulsating." Fast forward: The woman is begging for an epidural. She realizes an episiotomy will allow the baby's head to pass in order to avoid a Cesarean and will be easier to suture up than ripping would. The birthing ball never makes it out of the bag. The cord is cut and the baby is whisked away to suction mucus from the nose. Some parents are left feeling like "failures" because they didn't live up to THE PLAN. But they aren't! At the end of the day, you have to roll with it, take each situation as it comes, and you just do what you've got to do. Some decisions have to be made on the fly.

 

[socal78]

"we can't even resume intimate relationship, and who knows when, if ever, we'll be able to."

I was really sad to read this.  Not because I think it's true. But because I think that you think it's true. Please listen to me. I just want you to feel better mentally & I am trying to help. You WILL have a normal life again and maybe even better than before! (TMI??) I know it doesn't seem like it right now but everything will work out okay. Cheer up! 

 

[dliberty]

SoCal - thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it.
Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to believe it, I don't think we had a "normal" childbirth. If our experience was normal, then the bar is set pretty low. I have relatives in other parts of the world and they were all shocked that a patient can be in a hospital for 22 hours without seeing a doctor, especially when that patient is a woman in labor. They also mentioned that at the hospital where they gave birth there were always doctors walking around on the labor and delivery floor, entering each room to check on patients. As a matter of fact, it's a hospital policy that a doctor must enter the room at least once every 2 hours.
But we don't even have to go that far. Even here in our beautiful state of California there are doctors who are praised for spending hours next to their patients during delivery. Here's just one example:http://www.yelp.com/biz/james-a-kenneth-md-laguna-beach?hrid=UYI3XWO9la6oBnOKlzy2pA
Even having a doctor come in just to say "hey" once in a while is at least reassuring to know you're being cared for and allows you to ask questions and raise concerns. It also helps to see a familiar face.
For comparison, our OBGYN (Dr. Sayago) spent zero hours with us during delivery. I'm not upset that Sayago couldn't show up for whatever reason. I'm upset that she didn't care enough to send someone else to see us, or even call us to check how we're doing. Even a short "hey, how you guys holding up" would have been nice and would have allowed us to voice our concerns.

My point is - a woman in labor should be treated by a doctor, and not just at the very last minute when it's "too late" to even prepare an OR, as Dr. Deyan responded to one of the nurses. Any complication can affect both the mother and child and as others have mentioned, more often than not something goes wrong and time is of the essence. Sure, being cared for exclusively by nurses can be sufficient if you have a short and smooth delivery, as some women do. We have a friend who went to the hospital and delivered 3 hours later, no problems whatsoever.
Her doctor couldn't show up, but he was responsible enough to send someone else to see her right from the get go. In those mere 3 hours, she's seen a doctor more than we had in 22 hours.

To end things on a positive note, I really am trying to cheer up. I love my son more than anything in the world, and I look forward to spending many great years with him.

 

[ocbird]

I think some people who are on this forum that are not sympathatic may have there reasons:
they are friends and family of the said doctor, they are the doctor himself, they are doctors who like to defend their profession ( this is common esp. when a lot of docs get sued for malpractice).  You have every right to vent on this forum. I don't see what harm you are doing except bringing light what u experinced and sharing info and helping others become more informed.