Articles Posted in Gynecology Errors

A New York Appellate Court has held that the plaintiff in a breast cancer negligence case failed to raise a triable issue of fact and opposition to a defendant’s summary judgment motion.

Merlinda Paglinawan underwent a screening mammogram and ultrasound. The interpreting radiologist recommended a follow-up diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. Paglinawan discussed this with her obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Ing-Yann Jeng, who agreed.

The report of the follow-up test recommended a targeted ultrasound in 6-12 months. The following year, Dr. Jeng referred Paglinawan to a breast surgeon, leading to a diagnosis of Stage II breast cancer. That diagnosis was made several months later.
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Yahaira Perez, 39, experienced pain in her right upper quadrant. She went to a hospital emergency room where a CT scan revealed thickening of the colon and an incidental finding of an enlarged cervix with a 2.5 cm lesion.

Perez consulted her gynecologist, Dr. Mohammad Nizam, who scheduled her for emergency surgery to remove her cervix.

Post-operatively, the cervical pathology showed that Perez suffered from chronic cervicitis and a cyst instead of cancer. As a result of the unnecessary surgery, Perez suffered nerve damage and pelvic prolapse.
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Toni Marie Overmyer, 44, underwent a robotic hysterectomy at Swedish Hospital. After she was extubated in the operating room, the attending CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) allegedly noticed that Overmyer was not breathing properly. She was placed back on a monitor, which showed that Overmyer had bradycardia, in other words, a slower than normal heartbeat. The CRNA then began bag mask ventilation and administered vasopressin and ephedrine, which was designed to increase Overmyer’s heart rate and blood pressure.

The efforts to restore heart rate and blood pressure failed.

An anesthesiologist arrived and noted that Overmyer was flaccid, had dilated pupils, and had a systolic blood pressure of 54 mm/Hg. The doctor called a code, and Overmyer was reintubated. Although her blood pressure and heart rate normalized quickly, she suffered anoxic brain injury and did not regain consciousness. Unfortunately, Overmyer died eight days later and was survived by her two adult children.
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Akimbee Burns, who was in her late 30s, underwent a pap smear at a federally operated health care center. The health center’s pap smear showed atypical squamous cells. Unfortunately, Burns’s treating physician did not tell her of the results. When Burns returned to the same health center to follow up on an unrelated issue, the doctor allegedly told her that her pap smear result was normal.

Approximately eight months later, Burns was diagnosed as having Stage IIB cervical cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes.

Although Burns underwent radiation, chemotherapy and other treatments, she died within two years.
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Ms. Doe, 41, underwent a laparoscopic hysterectomy that was performed by Dr. Roe, an obstetrician. During the procedure, Dr. Roe discovered that a morcellator was unavailable and that the doctor could not complete the surgery as she had anticipated. A power morcellator is a surgical tool that surgeons use to cut bigger chunks of tissue into smaller ones usually during laparoscopic surgery. Surgeons use this tool mainly in gynecological procedures such as laparoscopic hysterectomy, as in this case.

Dr. Roe then bivalved Ms. Doe’s uterus manually and finished the surgery. Ms. Doe experienced postoperative sepsis and peritonitis.

An exploratory laparotomy revealed that Ms. Doe had a perforated bladder, small intestine, and rectosigmoid colon, as well as an injured urethra. A laparotomy is a surgical procedure with small incisions to the abdominal wall to gain access into the cavity.
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Ms. Doe, 65, suffered from obesity and high blood pressure and underwent a hysterectomy. She was placed on Lovenox for four days until she was discharged.

Several weeks after leaving the hospital, Ms. Doe collapsed and was rushed to a nearby hospital. She was diagnosed as having bilateral pulmonary emboli, clotting her femoral artery, as well as a patent foramen ovale, a hole in her heart. Although surgery was attempted to correct these problems, the procedure was discontinued because of Ms. Doe’s deteriorating condition.

Ms. Doe later suffered ischemia in her right leg, which necessitated an above-the-knee amputation. She alleged that her treating gynecologist negligently chose not to continue her on the Lovenox following her hospital discharge. Had the defendant done so, Ms. Doe claimed, she would not have developed blood clots and the pulmonary emboli.
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Mildred Vick, 65, underwent a Salpingo-oophorectomy performed by gynecologist Dr. Lawrence Bandy. Salpingo-oophorectomy is the surgery to remove the ovary fallopian tubes. This procedure is used to treat a variety of conditions, usually ovarian cancer.

Following this procedure, metabolic testing showed an abnormal glomerular filtration rate and creatinine level. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a test used to check how well the kidneys are functioning. It estimates show much blood passes through the glomerular each minute. Glomerular are the tiny fibers in the kidneys that filter waste from the blood.

Creatinine is a waste product produced by muscles from the breakdown of a compound called creatine. Creatinine is removed from the body by the kidneys, which filter almost all of it from the blood and releases it in the urine. The creatinine test measures the amount of creatinine in the blood and/or urine.
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Dr. Gary Lovell, a gynecologist, performed a hysterectomy procedure on Karri Tingey. She was 49 years old at the time. After this procedure, Dr. Lovell reported that he had discovered and repaired a superficial tear on her sigmoid colon. He did not tell Tingey or her husband,

Within three days of that surgery, Tingey returned to the hospital where she was diagnosed as having sepsis and septic shock. She underwent emergency surgery, which revealed a bowel perforation in the upper area of her rectum.

Tingey and her husband sued Dr. Lovell, alleging that the doctor caused injury to Tingey’s bowel during the hysterectomy, misidentified the location of the injury, and repaired it improperly. Dr. Lovell died during the litigation.
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Hope Johnson, 20, was a student who was considering hormonal birth control. In doing so, she underwent a blood test to determine whether she was at risk for blood clots. Although the test for Factor V Leiden was positive for a clotting mutation, Johnson’s treating ob/gyn told her that her Factor V Leiden results were normal.

About one month later, after starting birth control pills, she went to Auburn Urgent Care complaining of shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, headache and sore throat. She told the staff there that she was taking birth control pills. Dr. Zenon Bednarski, the owner and supervising physician of the clinic, diagnosed Ms. Johnson with pneumonia and bronchitis after an X-ray was taken. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic and sent Johnson home to return only if her condition worsened.

Ms. Johnson returned to the clinic two days later when her chest pain and shortness of breath became much worse. She reported these symptoms to newly hired Dr. David Willis who ordered a CBC (complete blood count), which showed an oxygen saturation level of 91. Dr. Willis performed no physical exam. He was unable to access Johnson’s medical chart from the previous clinic visit, diagnosed a high white blood count and shortness of breath and prescribed an inhaler. The very next day, Hope Johnson died of massive pulmonary emboli. She was survived by her parents and two siblings.
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Hamidan Mahamad underwent an annual gynecological checkup performed by an obstetrician, Dr. Herbert Mosberg, an employee of Hollis Women’s Center. Mahamad was in her middle 60s at the time of this exam. A routine transvaginal ultrasound showed the presence of free fluid in Mahamad’s pelvis, which was not there on previous ultrasounds.

Dr. Mosberg said that the latest test was normal. However, nine months later, Mahamad was diagnosed as having ovarian cancer that had metastasized to her uterus, liver and other organs.

In spite of several rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, Mahamad passed away from her illness about two years later. She is survived by her two adult children.
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