Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Had Hip Replacement Surgery Done. Colonosdopy And Endoscopy Done. Reason For Severe Weakness?
Question: My father in law (age 85) had hip replacement surgery 3.5 weeks ago. He is still hospitalized in Barns Hospital, St. XXXXXXX
Since the surgery he has been given multiple units of blood, including 5 units in the past week. Today he was given a colonosdopy and endoscopy to check for XXXXXXX bleeding. No source for the blood loss was found. He is getting weaker by the day and we are terrified he will die before anything is found. YYYY@YYYY
Since the surgery he has been given multiple units of blood, including 5 units in the past week. Today he was given a colonosdopy and endoscopy to check for XXXXXXX bleeding. No source for the blood loss was found. He is getting weaker by the day and we are terrified he will die before anything is found. YYYY@YYYY
Hello and thank you for sending your question.
I can appreciate that you're dealing with a very stressful situation.
The main goal at this point is to figure out whether he is losing blood or whether his body is somehow consuming blood or whether his bone marrow is just not producing enough blood cells at this time.
This is a world-class hospital that he is currently being treated at and this should be something they can figure out.
I would ask the doctors what their impression is at this point. They must have some suspicion as to whether he is having some type of active bleeding or if his body has some type of immune process going on which is destroying red blood cells and causing him to be anemic.
Sometimes when the body is under a significant amount of stress the ability of the bone marrow to function normally is blunted. This may be part of the problem.
Hopefully his blood count will stabilize and he will gradually become stronger and stronger in the coming days.
Thank you again for sending your question. Please let me know if you have any additional specific concerns.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
I can appreciate that you're dealing with a very stressful situation.
The main goal at this point is to figure out whether he is losing blood or whether his body is somehow consuming blood or whether his bone marrow is just not producing enough blood cells at this time.
This is a world-class hospital that he is currently being treated at and this should be something they can figure out.
I would ask the doctors what their impression is at this point. They must have some suspicion as to whether he is having some type of active bleeding or if his body has some type of immune process going on which is destroying red blood cells and causing him to be anemic.
Sometimes when the body is under a significant amount of stress the ability of the bone marrow to function normally is blunted. This may be part of the problem.
Hopefully his blood count will stabilize and he will gradually become stronger and stronger in the coming days.
Thank you again for sending your question. Please let me know if you have any additional specific concerns.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
Note: Do you have more questions on diagnosis or treatment of blood disorders? Ask An Expert/ Specialist Now
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
