Man deals with ‘gut punch’ after routine surgery leads to leg amputation at California hospital

Change is coming hard for Wayne Wolff whose left leg was amputated last year after what was supposed to be a routine knee surgery at UCI Clinical Center in Orange More than eight times Wolff has fallen down the stairs of his former two-story house in Perris forcing him and his wife to move to a single-story home elsewhere in town They traded their dream house the site of family barbecues birthdays and graduation celebrations where they had replanted every tree and played horseshoes for a house that still feels foreign to them An avid outdoorsman Wolff once trained his rifle on duck pheasant chukar anything that flew Now Wolff is hesitant to hunt again after he got stuck in the mud alone with his prosthetic It s just too risky he noted He s considering selling the Sea Ray ski boat he has owned for years the Jungle Cruise because he no longer feels safe on the water That s especially painful since he was a skilled lifelong water skier Poetry in motion commented his wife Lisa The first time I saw him water ski my jaw hit the bottom of the boat she commented But since the allegedly botched surgery they ve had to reconsider their recreational choices It s a gut punch for sure but you ve got to know your limitations Wolff stated Wayne Wolff looks out into his backyard from his Perris home on Wednesday April Wolff went to UCI Diagnostic Center for a routine knee surgery and ended up losing his leg after a physician mistakenly severed an artery Photo by Andrew Foulk Contributing Photographer Lawsuit alleges negligence The Wolffs are suing the University of California Board of Regents for alleged negligence by the hospital and its head of sports medicine and UC Irvine association specialist Dean Wang Attorneys for the Wolffs declined to discuss the legal aspects of the scenario The anatomical center also declined to comment Perhaps the bulk hard blow is Wolff can no longer do the job he had held for years boring tunnels for subways and sewers throughout the United States and Canada It s just too dangerous to go down those shafts where he supervises the electrical construction of the boring equipment If something happened how would he get out if he can t move fast Lisa revealed Didn t expect this challenge Though it s been a year since his life changed forever Wolff is still adjusting to his new reality To go in to the hospital for an improvement outpatient operation I didn t expect this challenge I never could have foreseen this outcome he explained In Wolff was looking for a medical professional to operate on his left meniscus damaged by the wear and tear of an evolving life A co-worker recommended Wang and UCI Medicinal Center rated among the best hospitals by U S News World Record according to the hospital s website The recommendation checked all the boxes for Wolff They were the big shop in town he announced What went wrong Wolff was supposed to go home the same day as his surgery April But there was a issue According to the lawsuit Wang notified Lisa after surgery that he had nicked a vein which he then cauterized Days later doctors discovered Wang certainly had severed the artery that supplies blood to the left lower extremity It should not have taken days to make that discovery the lawsuit contends Lisa knew straightaway something was very wrong but she mentioned no one listened A veteran trauma room nurse by arrangement she alerted hospital staff that her husband s excruciating pain was disproportionate with the arthroscopic surgery And she knew Wolff had a high threshold for pain Once when he accidentally dropped a wrench on his head while working on a car he had his wife stitch him up at home while he was watching a Chargers event rather than go to the exigency room Concerns discounted But the agony he experienced after surgery was like nothing he ever imagined Lisa knew forthwith what was happening When tissue doesn t get the nutrients it requirements it hurts it s screaming for the nutrients It s called ischemia she mentioned Purely put the leg wasn t getting any blood And it was dying For days doctors and nurses discounted Lisa s concerns even when she complained that Wolff s leg was badly swollen cold to the touch and turning mottled He also couldn t move his feet and toes the suit alleges Staff refused her requests for an ultrasound of the leg and dismissed her even after the pulse disappeared from his foot according to the suit Doctors conducted another surgery and detected the artery was cut and the leg would need to be amputated Lisa had been right all along but her vindication was far from satisfying She felt unheard dismissed frustrated It broke my heart seeing him in that much pain and I couldn t do anything about it noted Lisa choking back tears That s what I do for a living I was trying for my best friend I just demanded to be heard It was devastating Doctors broke the news to Lisa about the need to take her husband s leg in an empty surgical waiting room It was devastating I honestly felt like I couldn t breathe she remembered I was hysterically crying uncontrollably sobbing Then she had to tell Wolff who was recovering from surgery that his leg would have to go It was awful Lisa announced He s so progressing and now our lives were going to fully percent going to change forever And the fact I had to tell him wasn t fair Wolff took the news with a bit of stoicism and faith that God had a plan for him I was honestly thinking I m going to make the best of it Things are challenging I ll meet the challenge and hit it head on he declared God steers the ship His resolve was tested when days later his leg was removed by a organization of surgeons and he awoke with a bruised stump It was an eye-opener and reality check for sure just trying to figure out what s it going to take to live like this Wolff announced Related Articles Bay Area lawmaker aims to prevent fatal overdoses lower stigma at California colleges Bay Area food banks pantries struggle with funding cuts as demand continues to rise New documentary looks at Highland Hospital trauma center from a unique perspective No stranger to body brokering and kickbacks insurer s lawsuit against California addiction rehabilitation providers says Santa Clara County offers million to repair dilapidated mental vitality homes Gone were the days of just jumping into the shower and climbing down tunnels Everything is times harder and takes times longer he declared You re not supposed to hate and I ve adhered to it as best I can If somebody had done their job I d be not talking to you right now Lisa who no longer works in a hospital but teaches nursing at two local colleges explained she uses her negative experience at UCI Physiological Center in her classroom lessons on how nurses can improve I wouldn t want somebody else to go through the living hell we ve been through the last year