Healthy ovary removed unnecessarily

What happened

Mrs F was referred to the gynaecologist by her GP after a long period of abdominal pain. The gynaecologist did not fully assess Mrs F and instead chose to operate on the basis of an inconclusive ultrasound scan that suggested there was an ovarian cyst and blocked fallopian tube. During the operation he removed the ovary and fallopian tube, despite there being no evidence of a cyst or a blockage. Mrs F was still in pain after the procedure and sought a second opinion. She was told by a second gynaecologist that there had been nothing wrong with her ovary and it should not have been removed. During the complaint process, the hospital told Mrs F that the ovary was removed because she had insisted on it, something which is denied by Mrs F.

What we found

The gynaecologist was justified in performing an investigative operation on Mrs F, but it was clear from photographs taken during the operation that the ovary was healthy. At this point, the gynaecologist should have stopped the operation. Instead, he removed a healthy organ with no reason. There was no evidence that Mrs F had specifically requested the ovary's removal and, even if she had, there were no grounds for the gynaecologist to remove a healthy organ at that time. Mrs F did not contract varices from the operation as she had claimed. However, this did not detract from the fact that she had a healthy organ removed unnecessarily, which caused her considerable distress and worry. So we upheld her complaint.

Putting it right

The hospital apologised to Mrs F and paid her £5,000 in compensation. We also recommended that the hospital produce an action plan to address the failings identified.