New York, NY personal injury attorney Michael Ronemus tells us about the hysterectomy malpractice case you handled. The case, a particularly shocking example of surgical error, involved a woman in her mid-40s with two teenage children. She had been diagnosed with diverticulitis, and after standard medical treatment failed to relieve her symptoms, her physician recommended surgery to remove a portion of her intestine and perform a temporary colostomy. The plan was to reverse the colostomy after her intestines had sufficiently healed, typically within six months.

During this recovery period, the patient began experiencing vaginal bleeding. Her doctor proposed that when performing the colostomy reversal and reconnecting her intestine, they could also conduct a hysterectomy to address her bleeding and other reproductive issues.

Six months later, the surgical procedure took place. The medical team reconnected the intestine and performed the hysterectomy as planned. However, while still recovering in the hospital, the patient noticed an unusual vaginal discharge. She reported this to the medical staff, but her concerns were dismissed as normal post-operative discharge.

Once she returned home, the patient examined herself with a mirror and made a disturbing discovery: she was defecating through her vagina. Alarmed, she went back to her doctor, who ordered a CAT scan or MRI. The imaging revealed a severe surgical error: the surgeon had mistakenly sewn her intestine to her vagina instead of correctly reconnecting the intestinal segments.

The attending physician acknowledged the mistake, explaining that he had allowed a resident to perform the procedure. Over the course of the next year, the patient underwent several corrective surgeries to properly reconnect her intestines. It was a distressing case that highlighted a significant surgical blunder.