The Granite Falls News reports that Casandra Sannerud, 26, was charged with multiple counts of Medicaid fraud on behalf of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.

The charges included: three counts of theft by false representation, one count of criminal neglect, and one count of failure to report, resulting in great bodily harm. The Attorney General’s Office brought the charges against Sannerud after seeing a May 3, 2010 report on Minneapolis-based WCCO-TV, entitled “Family Blames PCA for Woman Losing Her Legs.”

According to WCCO, Sannerud was working as a personal care assistant to her friend Jennifer Darville, who was paralyzed from the waist down in an ATV accident in 2004. In late 2009, the report says, Darville developed pressure sores on the backs of her legs and her hips, which she couldn’t see or feel. The report goes on to say that Sannerud failed to report the decubitus ulcers, as required by Medicaid, and that they grew so severe that Darville required amputation of her legs.

The Attorney General’s Office says Sannerud only documented the pressure ulcers once, on January 14, 2010, after Darville had been admitted to a South Dakota hospital on December 20, 2009. State fraud investigators also discovered more than 100 overlaps between Sannerud’s daily PCA timesheets, and her work at another care center.

Sannerud countered the claims by saying she’d tried to get Darville to see a doctor, but that Darville had refused.

In a Granite Falls district court on May 25, Sannerud plead guilty to charges of theft of medical costs, and failure to report a health condition. She was sentenced to two years of probation, and was ordered to pay $7,043.30 in restitution.

Related:

A Graphic Example Of Nursing Home Negligence: Amputation Of A Leg Due To Untreated Bed Sores

Can bed sores lead to amputation of limbs?

Why are physically disabled patients at risk for developing bed sores?

Amputation is the surgical removal of a limb or body part (arms, legs, feet, fingers, toes), usually to remove diseased tissue or relieve pain.  The amputation procedure is performed by an orthopedic surgeon in a hospital operating room under regional or general anesthesia.

The procedure varies depending on which limb is removed; however, all surgical amputations involve removing diseased tissue and constructing a stump, which will fit a prosthesis.  The procedure for an above-the-knee amputation includes: first cutting the skin and muscle layers, then clamping the major blood vessels and cutting them, then cutting the bone with a bone saw, and finally, the muscles are stitched together over the bone and the skin is closed over the wound.

The decision of how much of the limb to remove depends on how much tissue needs to be removed for proper healing, while saving as much of the healthy skin, blood vessels, and nerve tissue as possible for rehabilitative purposes.  One test that the surgeon performs to determine the health of the limb is the amount of blood flow to the affected region (measurement of blood pressure in the limb).

As with other major surgeries, amputation carries with it the same risks including complications with anesthesia, blood loss, and blood clots; however, infection is the main complication following surgery.  Amputation is a painful procedure, requiring treatment with pain medication and antibiotics post-surgery, and a hospital stay ranging from five to fourteen days, absent further complications.  Following surgery, the newly formed stump must be moved often to encourage circulation, with physical therapy commencing as soon as possible.  The rehabilitative process is a long process, especially for above the knee amputees.  The physical rehabilitation is often accompanied by grief counseling to help the patient cope with the sense of loss that comes with losing a limb.  Patients also often have phantom limb pain, which is very difficult to treat.  Amputation is a last resort for both physicians and patients, but in some cases, as with severe pressure sores (which are likely preventable), it becomes necessary.

Sources:
MayoClinic.com – Pressure Sores
Merck – Pressure Sores
Encyclopedia of Surgery – Amputation
Vascular Web – Amputation

Related:

A Graphic Example Of Nursing Home Negligence: Amputation Of A Leg Due To Untreated Bed Sores