Surgery Cancelled - High WBC

@Ashley@ · March 30, 2008

I am so upset. My surgery was scheduled for Monday March 31st, and the surgeon's office called me on Thursday and said that my labs came back and my white blood cell count was high(this means i might have an infection.) I was so frustrated that they didn't call me earlier to tell me this. Instead they call 1 day before my surgery! So, I rushed down to my PCP office and re-did the blood work and it is still high. My doctor cleared me but the surgeon won't do the procedure because it is a risk. I am perfectly healthy and they have no idea why my WBC is high. So now I have to get cleared by a hematologist in order to re-schedule my surgery. I was so looking forward to this and now I don't know how to handle this huge let down. Did anyone else have a high WBC? If so, what did you do???:thumbup:

BabyNicole · March 30, 2008

I'm sorry you have to wait. Just think of it this way...if you do have an infection it's good they caught it b/c that could cause a problem during or after surgery. Hang in there!

@Ashley@ · March 30, 2008

Thank you, I know it's good they caught it I just wish I knew sooner because now I have to wait longer. :thumbup:

musicalmomma · March 30, 2008

high WBC is VERY common in obese people!! I had high WBC, my husband had high WBC, and my dear friend had high WBC on our pre-op blood work. We only needed a clearance from our pcp and all got it. None of us had any infection. I guess it's high enough to truly concern your surgeon since your pcp's clearance doesn't put his mind at ease. Better safe than sorry...but you're right... a little more notice, before the surgery would have been nice! Are you on a pre-op diet?

I'm sorry you have to wait...keep us posted.

Edited March 30, 2008 by musicalmomma

@Ashley@ · April 6, 2008

Musicalmomma,

No I'm not on a pre-op diet, just trying to eat well so my body will stay healthy for surgery. I had an appointment with a hematologist on Friday and he cleared me for surgery :regular_smile: so now he's going to fax over the clearance letter on Monday to my surgeons office and hopefully I will get a new surgery date within two weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Thanks for the support!