Why I do not recommend the Mayo Clinic Vascular Dept. in Rochester, MN Written by Rick 4-2025

This is the story about how my wife Valerie became disabled by the unprofessionalism
and lack of thinking out of the box by the Dr’s at Mayo clinic Vascular Dept. in Rochester MN did in 2024.
The pictures you will see at the end of this might be something you just don’t wish to look at, they are not the worst of the worst, however, think about it prior to viewing.

In 2024 a Dr. at Sandford medical in Bemidji MN facility recommended that the Mayo clinic vascular dept. take a look at the possibility of doing an arterial bypass to open blood flow to my wife’s left foot. This is because the number 2 toe on left foot (Pic 2: below) was turning color from the lack of blood flow. She has severe PAD “peripheral artery disease” in her Aorta, and both legs along with a small aneurysm in the artery going from the heart to the right shoulder. Her Aorta flow at the time of recommendation was 55% open, right leg below knee flow was 90% open, left leg below knee was only 5% open - meaning 95% blocked. A bypass to the left leg is the recommendation. The blockage in left leg below knee where the arteries split front to back. Marked with a blue circle in (Pic 1: below).
All of this was known prior to first appointment Sept 8^th 2024. During first appointment with the surgery coordinator and two other Dr’s, which were more concerned with her smoking than anything else. One Dr even stated that “I am not saying we won’t help you if you don’t stop smoking but” and then asked if she would stop or consider stopping. Hmm
Well, we went to this place so they could look at her second toe on left foot, to see what could be done to get more blood down to the foot. It was expected; they would do a bypass on the left leg from the hip down past the blockage below the knee.
Since the Mayo likes to do their own test and not rely on other hospital test results. They did every test they could come up within a two-week period “they did not wish to take the tests that were already performed by Sanford in Fargo ND or Bemidji, MN” They did agree to allow two tests to be done at Sanford local to our home. Since the Mayo was 350 miles from home. So many tests that in our opinion had nothing to do with fixing the blockage of blood flow to the left foot. Many meetings with Doctor’s. that as mentioned were more concerned with her smoking than anything else. After 1 ½ months of testing and meetings etc. (All this while the second toe and then the other toes all turning color fast, getting worse and worse by the day) They suggested doing a bypass for the Aorta “original bypass image Pic 1: below: rather than the leg bypass to open up downstream flow past the blockage, we asked what about the leg as the leg is blocked 95% to the foot.
We were told “they like to do the large artery first”. I am no Dr, however if you know anything about plumbing, you should know you never unplug a large flow pipe where it will be blocked by a smaller blockage downstream. (The body’s arteries are very similar to plumbing) This is exactly what they did. 2 ½ months went by before they performed the Aorta bypass on Oct 18^th 2024. They did the bypass from the left shoulder down to the left hip and did not bridge that hip connection to the right hip. By doing this, the flow of blood increased to the left leg and decreased to the right leg, she starting having severe pain in the right leg the day after this bypass. The Dr’s said we don’t know what is causing that pain since we did not touch the right side. “Originally we were informed they were going to do an Aorta bypass from the right shoulder to right hip and bridge to the left hip. This procedure would have evened out blood flow to both legs”.
The second toe the day after that initial bypass turned pink “blood flow did increase temporally -> for a day”. A couple of days later I suggested they do the bypass on the left leg to open the flow to the foot since the bypass perfumed did not work beyond the left knee blockage of 95%. I was told that “they don’t think a bypass would work”. One Dr. I was chatting with showed me the “cat scan of the left foot”, all the veins, arteries in the foot from heal to ball of foot were like looking at clear tubes, nothing in them. This indicates no blood showing at all. And again, they said “we don’t believe a bypass will work”. I told them that is the problem, you are not thinking it will, and you really don’t know. I then said I / we are sure it will work once the blood flow it entering, it will fill in all the empty veins etc. You don’t know for sure. So please do the bypass or she will lose the left foot/leg.
Almost a week later instead of doing a left leg bypass as requested they decided to attempt an angiogram to see if they could push through the clog below the knee. Remember that clog was a 95% blockage.
I suggested yet again they just to do the bypass and get it done. I was told yet again “we don’t think it will work” and they will try an angiogram first. They also stated she has been through a lot and needs to heal a bit, (That is the only part they really got right) Well, they did the angiogram and they tried from above the knee, could not punch through, then tried 30+ times “ from the shin area up and they could not find the artery) – now that this failed I suggested the bypass again, but we now have to wait another few days to give her time to heal. So, after yet another delay they finally did the bypass as requested. They did not do the typical bypass by pushing down a graft from the hip to an access point below the blockage, they cut 3 to 4 different places and moved an artery from the back of the leg “calf” to the front, omg. No matter what. Low and behold, it worked and blood flow was now moving along to the foot. Blood was filling in all the empty veins, arteries etc. If they would have done the bypass 4 months sooner, IMHO she would have lost nothing.
However, now after that last bypass, they started to look at why she was in so much pain in the right leg. Due to lack of blood flow to the right leg/foot. All The toes turned color “Pic 2A, below”. What they did was an angiogram to see if blockage was causing it, they found two blockages below the knee and put in two balloons. However, that did not work. Still not thinking that the Aorta bypass they performed on the left side, that was not bridged to the right was taking an excessive amount of blood away from the right side. So, they told us that “there is nothing else they can do” except to remove the right leg. On Dec 9^th they did a BKA “below knee amputation”. “Pic 3, below” Right leg before BKA Below Knee amputation.

The toes of the left foot due to taking so long were already all black. “Pic 7, below” They were not removed by the Mayo. On Dec 19^th she was released from the Mayo and I took her to rehab where she stayed.

On Jan 24^th she went to Hanger prosthetics in Brainerd MN for her first appointed for a prosthetic right leg (below knee), while at this appointment the person she saw put on a very tight compression sock to make the stump area even smaller “Pic 9: below”. This person said they have been doing this work for 25-30 years. Well, the compression sock was way too tight and it was too soon to put that tight of a compression on. She had it on for 6–7 hours “From about 2:30pm until 9-9:30pm” as she was told to wear it during the day and take it off at night. When she took it off, she saw the end of the stump turned color, filled with blood, “Pic 4, Below” what took place was the compression being too tight made it so the blood would not flow correctly and the thing filled with blood, clotted, blisters appeared on the outside of it. She was rushed to the hospital. Unluckily she was then transferred from the hospital near the rehab facility back to the Mayo the 26^th, where all they did was give her pain meds and some antibiotics for 5 days. The Mayo showed Occlusion “Blood Clot” above the amputation on the right leg. Right Proximal knee cooler to touch. They released her back to rehab Jan 30^th.
On Feb 2^nd she was sent again to the local hospital for the stump where they had her prior, “while at the local hospital this time, she was able to tell them no Mayo hospital”. So, they found Abbott Northwestern Hospital that could take her as she now needed to have an Above knee Amputation. Feb 3^rd she was admitted to ANH. They found that she had now developed a staph infection from the stump clot etc. “Pic 5, below” This required Antibiotics for 4-6 weeks. The infection got into blood stream for the whole body. They informed her and I she now has to have an above knee amputation as they could not fix the blow knee infection. So, a couple of days later Feb 6th they did the above knee removal and all started to look good again. She and I were asked if she would like ANH to look at the left foot toes and possibly remove them. At first, she wanted a Dr. at Sandford to do the work and after we chatted about the timeline for this to take place with a local to home Dr., she then decided to let Abbott take care of it. Abbott stated that they needed to do an angiogram of the right groin area all the way across and down to the left foot to make sure it is all cleared and flowing as if should be. They wanted that because blood flow down to the foot was working but not 100%. They did the angiogram and found a blockage below the bypass point the Mayo performed. They cleaned everything out and blood flow was really good from that point on. A couple of days later they removed the toes “Pic 7: below” and cleaned out the heal. Released Her Feb 21^st so she could go home. The only thing needed at home is I gave her syringe antibiotics 3 times a day for two weeks and perform wound care daily etc. She also had home care twice a week until March 1^st.
Pic 6, below AKA as of 4-2025, Pic 8, left foot as of 4-2025. I could not image all the pain she had endured.

I recommend Abbott Northwestern Hospital to everyone as they did an excellent job, polite, thinking out of the box, providing good information, spending the time to talk, listening etc.

Procedures done from 10-2024 to Feb 2025. All this medical gobbledygook

*Mayo surgeries 2024, I do not recommend the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN
So, first bypass Oct 18^th BYPASS GRAFT AXILLO UNI-FEMORAL ARTERY, right axillary to left femoral bypass. (Bilateral) IR ENDOVASCULAR ANGIOPLASTY STENT ILIAC LOWER EXTREMITY. (Left) IR IMAGING.
Oct 21^st Left lower extremity angiogram, possibly tibial angioplasty, possible retrograde intervention. (Left) IR
IMAGING.
Nov 11^th BYPASS FEMORAL, ANTERIOR TIBIAL ARTERY WITH VEIN, possible PTFE. (Left) HARVESTING SAPHENOUS VEIN LOWER EXTREMITY. (Bilateral) IR IMAGING -Left leg
Nov 13^th DEBRIDEMENT, IRRIGATION WOUND left groin, vac change. (Left)
Nov 15^th DEBRIDEMENT, IRRIGATION WOUND LOWER EXTREMITY, groin wound washout, vac change, Ligation of left greater saphenous vein branches using ultrasound guidance, proceed as indicated. (Left)
Nov 25^th Angioplasty for lower right leg
Dec 9^th Below Knee right leg amputation

* Abbott Northwestern Hospital surgeries 2025:
Feb 6^th Above knee amputation to remove below knee stump due to clot / infection.
Feb 17^th Removal of toes / clean up heal wound etc.

Original Bypass in white below that was supposed to happen that would have increased blood flow to both legs. However, these people did a bypass on the left to the left arterial artery. Still rather than doing a leg bypass to increase flow to the foot. They opt for this bypass in blue. This did not help the foot at all due to the 95% clog below the knee that I have circled in blue.
Pic 1--- Bypass information.


Pic 2--- Showing left foot with toe turning color.
Pic 2A -- Right Foot

Pic 3 ---- Right leg before BKA Below Knee amputation


Pic 4 --- right BKA prior to compression sock and same day it was put on. Jan 24^th

Pic 5 ---- Right stump a couple of days after wearing super tight compression sock:


Pic 6 ---- Right leg AKA stump 4-2025

Pic 7 ---- Left foot prior to toe amputations


Pic 8 ---- Left foot 4-2025

Pic 9. The compression socks. White one is what she was wearing, gray one was the super tight one. Heck of a difference in size

Prior to first surgery at the Mayo: Pic taken 10-3-2024 She could walk.



IMHO if you have a body part that is turning color / black like with frost bite, these stinking Dr’s should not be taking their damn time to get things done. These are emergencies.
Over 4 months since recommendation before first surgery and not thinking out of the box. When the Dr. at Sanford put in the recommendation to them in June 2024 It should have been taking care of within a few days, not months. Remember you have a body part turning/dyeing and it needs immediate attention.

Rick Quayle
4-2025
P.S. As of March 18th 2025, Val developed 2 blood clots in her lungs along with fluid in both. One of the clots were in the main artery entering the left lung, the other clot was inside the right lung. The medical facility Vibra Hospital of Fargo had managed to remove all fluid etc. and provide blood thinners etc. She seemed like she was improving rather well, however, it was good than bad than good like a roller coaster for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks of this she ended up with bleeding from intestinal area and within the lower left lung. Then the lungs got fluid in them again. Attempt to performed some needed testing failed due to the internal intestinal issues. Breathing and oxygen levels had fallen rapidly within a 48-hour period. She developed more bleeding and heart failures to go along with the fluid in lungs etc. As of 4-28-2025, she had passed away.