The surgery was necessary after diagnosis of a tubal ectopic pregnancy. The Claimant (“C”) had been suffering from pain for 5 days and had visited her GP which led to the diagnosis being made by a gynaecologist.
£39,000 for a 26-year-old Woman for the Bowel Injuries She Suffered During a Laparoscopic Salpingectomy Which is Keyhole Surgery to Remove a Fallopian Tube
During the necessary operation the surgeon inadvertently made two surgical incisions in the bowel which were not detected at the time of surgery. C had to have a further operation to repair the damage, after which she needed a short stay on intensive care, as she was suffering from problems with inflammation because of the contamination of faeces in her pelvis and also problems with breathing.
After C had recovered from the complications of surgery, she still suffered some pain (relieved by passing stools) and was left with an urgency to pass stools, had irritable bowel syndrome and mild shortness of breath, and her symptoms would be permanent. However, it was predicted that supervised exercise and/or cognitive behavioural therapy could be of benefit and might lead to some improvement in future.
C’s claim was that surgery was substandard as she had suffered not one but two bowel insults); the surgeon had used an inappropriate technique to insert a trocar, or in the alternative, the bowel was injured on insertion of the secondary ports; and the surgeon had failed to adequately examine the bowel, resulting in a failure to identify the injury (small bowel perforation in two places, 10cm apart) intra-operatively.
Fortunately, liability was admitted.