Post Surgical Visit

Today I met with my OG/GYN for my post surgical visit. Everything is going as expected. I am doing well. Good news! I got to see (and even have copies) of the pictures of my insides. To be honest the before and after both look kinda gross to me. I had a polyp which has been removed, non cancerous as expected. My menstrual cycle is a good deal lighter. Panty liners suffice now when previously the largest maxi pad would last me only 2 hours if that. Menstrual cramping is barely noticeable. These are all very good things.

One of my concerns was that ablation was a new procedure. The other concern was sterility and the affect that would have on Tom. I had never heard of it and was nervous about getting a new and barely tested (meaning it had just passed the FDA and was new to the market) procedure. I declined the ablation to give myself some more time to investigate it. Since my surgery I have had time to do some research and have found that most women who have had this performed are pleased with the results. The procedure is over 20 years old, it is only the type of ablation that is new. Novasure has been around for about 5 years and is considered to be the quickest and safest method to date. This is good news. I believe that Tom is angry that any chance we had at reproduction is now gone. This is very bad news.

We discussed the procedure that I hadn't authorized. The ablation. My doctor has been very forthcoming and has taken the extra step to set up a meeting between her, the Director of OR, Tom and myself. I am going to call my attorney tomorrow to see if he will join us at this meeting. I found out today that I went into surgery with an unsigned consent form. It is of no matter to my doctor that I needed this procedure. I am a patient who said no and this was not addressed. The ends do not justify this colossal screw up.

From what I understand this mistake boils down to one nurse who failed to do her job. I am keeping an eye to be sure she is not simply being used as a scapegoat for the surgical center. It seems somewhat implausible that it could only be one person's mistake. Surely there were other people working that day!

These are the questions I want answered.

1. How did this happen, in detail? I want to know who, what, why and when.
2. What has been done to rectify this problem?
3. What is being done to ensure this doesn't happen to someone else?
4. Please provide me copies of all paperwork for this procedure. I want copies of my online form and the consent form that I never signed. I also want copies of any surgical notes.

I will keep you updated.