My name is Kim Short and I am a General Practitioner LC from  Brisbane
,Australia. I have just joined the Lactnet. I had a 30yo mother today who
developed mastitis on day3 in the hospital (yes,in Oz women are still in
hospital on day3). She was treated with appropriate antibiotics but when
she developed shooting pains through the breast she was treated over the
next six weeks with 6 courses of the same antibiotic by several different
doctors, all for "mastitis". When I saw her in week 7 she had put the baby
on the bottle and given up because of the pain. I treated her for breast
thrush and she was a new woman 24 hours later. She was so happy she agreed
to try the baby on the breast and now the baby is again fully brfed.
Unfortunately a week later she has true mastitis again in exactly the same
part of her breast as it has been before. She gives a history of an MVA
prior to pregnancy where she sustained significant chest wall seat belt
injuries across the inner quadrants of both breasts. After the accident she
had seen a Dr. repeatedly about breast lumps which subsided.
How likely is it that breast trauma alone can cause recurrent blocked
ducts/mastits and has anyone had any experience from a legal point of view
in a case like this as her solicitor has just contacted me for more info?
(yes,we have plenty of litigation over here too ! )
NB- she has had physio using microcurrent and laser with some degree of
success.
KIM SHORT ( [log in to unmask])
BRISBANE.AUSTRALIA