Most people know that before they have any pre-planned surgery, they ought to be properly consented by the surgeon. In order to consent to the operation you must be advised of the possible risks and the procedure itself should be explained. If this has not occurred and you believe that surgery took place when you did not have the information to make an informative decision as to whether to go ahead or you were not aware of the extent of the operation then you may have a claim for medical negligence.
In one incident last year, a 31 year old woman with 2 children went to her GP with lower abdomen pain. After some investigation it was discovered that she had a cyst on her left ovary which needed removing. To remove the cyst, she would need a left Oophorectomy, the surgical removal of her left ovary. She was therefore referred to a consultant Gynecologist for the operation.
She was informed of the risk of the procedure by the consultant and her consent to the procedure was taken by a junior doctor specialising in Gynecology. The operation took place and during the surgery, the consultant noticed that the right ovary was trapped between the patient’s rectum and pelvic wall. He therefore decided that the right ovary should also be removed and he did so there and then.
After the surgery, the patient was informed of what had happened. Although she was not too distressed at the time, she later began to suffer severe menopausal symptoms as a result of the removal of both ovaries. Her symptoms included depression, joint pain and stress incontinence and although she was started on a course of HRT and antidepressants, she never felt that same as she had before the operation.
The patient brought a medical negligence claim against the medical practitioners for failing to take her consent to the removal of her right ovary. The consultant involved argued that she had been advised of the potential risk, that if there was a problem with the other ovary as well, they may opt to remove it during the procedure. However, nothing was documented within his notes and the junior doctor had not consented the patient for the removal of her right ovary. When the solicitors for the hospital reviewed the case, they felt that the claim was undefendable and the case was settled for a high sum outside of court.
If you feel that you have not been properly consented for an operation then you may also have a claim for medical negligence and we would suggest that you discuss what happened with a clinical negligence specialist.
