Patient claims physician mistakenly removed her ovaries

Consent is of utmost importance when it comes to surgical procedures. Women, for example, expect extreme caution when medical professionals are considering procedures that can impact their reproductive organs. As a result, the medical community expects professionals to disclose these risks and receive consent from the patient for the procedure before the physician can move forward with the proposed form of care.

Unfortunately, physicians do not always obtain such consent before moving forward with such treatment. In some cases, the error could be an honest mistake. In others, a result of negligence. Whatever the details behind the case, one thing is often true: a physician who proceeds without consent has likely breached the expectations of patient care.

A recent case provides an example. In this case, a patient was experiencing extreme pain and bleeding. She sought care from an obstetrician gynecologist, who stated the issue was likely her uterus. She agreed to a vaginal hysterectomy and bladder repair surgery. During the procedure the physician also took out the patient’s ovaries and fallopian tubes. The patient did not give permission for this more invasive removal.

The impact of the error was life-changing. As a direct result of the removal of her ovaries and fallopian tubes, the patient developed acute estrogen deficiency syndrome.

The patient is holding the medical professionals accountable for their wrongdoing. She recently filed a lawsuit against the physician, his private practice and the medical center where the procedure took place. During the deposition, the physician stated at the time of the procedure he was getting tested for Parkinson’s Disease. He blamed the error on memory failure due to the disease.