My experience with Dr. Attinello was devastating, and the consequences affected years of my life.
After my spinal surgery, I woke up every day in excruciating pain and could barely lift my head. I was also leaking a huge amount of fluid from my back, to the point that I would wake up with my bed completely drenched. I called Dr. Attinello and told him exactly what was happening, and he had me come in. I was told that the fluid was simply pus draining from the wound and that I should put gauze over it.
I followed those instructions for about a week while my pain became unbearable. I was screaming from the pain constantly, and my neighbors even told me they were going to call the police because they could hear me screaming.
Eventually, I went to the emergency room. At the hospital, I was told that what had been leaking from my back was cerebrospinal fluid. In my understanding, this had not been identified during my earlier evaluation, even though I had undergone imaging including a CT and MRI.
I then developed osteomyelitis in my spine. I had to undergo another major surgery, during which a significant amount of infected tissue was removed from my back, and I spent close to a year receiving IV treatment to eradicate the infection.
When I woke up after that surgery, I was paralyzed and had to relearn how to walk. My recovery took approximately a year. After finally learning to walk again, I later required a third surgery to fuse my spine. I woke up from that surgery unable to walk as well and had to go through the process of learning to walk yet again.
This entire experience took roughly two years of my life. What began as one spinal surgery turned into two additional surgeries, a serious spinal infection, long-term IV treatment, paralysis, and years of rehabilitation.
I considered pursuing legal action, but ultimately I could not bring myself to relive everything I had gone through.
I am still deeply angry about what happened. From my perspective, the way my symptoms were handled after the original surgery had life-changing consequences. I would strongly encourage anyone considering spinal surgery to advocate for themselves, seek another medical opinion if something feels seriously wrong, and take symptoms such as severe pain or unusual fluid drainage extremely seriously. read more