Woman says her doctor removed her fallopian tubes without her consent.
This story was posted in the subreddit r/legal. The shorthand NAL in the comments below stands for 'Not a lawsuit.'
'Dr removed my tubes without my consent'
Last year, I gave birth to my second child. My husband and I agreed that we didn't want any more kids, so I asked to have my tubes tied. I knew that if I changed my mind about not wanting more kids 1, 5, 10 or even 20 years later, I could have it reversed (yes, I know reversals don't always work, I did the research and knew what I was asking for).
My Dr scheduled the surgery, and I signed all the consents. Every single consent, every single paper I signed said 'Tubal Ligation', which by definition is 'a procedure that involved tying, clamping or cutting the fallopian tubes in order to prevent future pregnancies'.
When I woke up from surgery, and was still groggy from anesthesia, the nurse mentioned to me that the doctor completely removed my fallopian tubes. It wasn't until I was home that it truly hit me what the doctor did, and I started sobbing.
I wanted the option of being able to reverse the procedure. Even my husband wanted me to be able to have a reversal done someday if I chose to (he's a bit older than me, and believes he will die in his 50s like his grandparents all did). It's been 8 months, and I still feel like the doctor violated my trust.
I combed through all of my consent forms, every single piece of paper I signed for the surgery said 'tubal ligation'. But one paper, one that was only signed by the doctor, said something different.
It was surgical notes, and in one section it said 'Proposed procedure: Tubal Ligation' and right below that 'Actual procedure: Tubal Salpingectomy'.
I reached out to a local medical malpractice lawyer, but was told that because the Tubal salpingectomy (complete removal of tubes) had the same results as a tubal ligation, that I wouldn't have a leg to stand on in court.
I spoke to other women who have seen the same doctor, and they all say that they will never see her again, that she ignores patients wishes, lies about patients being in labor so she can induce them, etc.
What can I do? I live in Texas.
Here were the top rated responses from readers:
Everyone I know who had a tubal ligation was warned in advance that it should be considered permanent and not reversible. I am curious what discussions you had with your OB before hand on this. Did you communicate that you wanted to potentially have more children later?
In my experience, the doctor would have encouraged another form of birth control in that case. There is no guarantee of reversal with both this and a vasectomy (though these seem to have more ability to be reversed). That said, it may have been a decision that was necessitated during the surgery to do removal versus tie & clamp.
NAL. So I had my tubes removed a few months ago. They remove them now, but it’s still considered a type of tubal ligation. From my understanding, removal is now the most common type of ligation.
You did get what you asked for. The fact that you wanted to potentially reverse it is a red flag and should’ve been a red flag to your doctor (unless you didn’t tell them). Part of the process of getting the procedure was explaining to the doctor that I definitely 10000% didn’t want anymore kids.
Salpingectomy is a type of tubal litigation. A more modern procedure than the old-school looping, but still the same thing. I got to choose the method with mine, although not all places let you choose the technique.
I had my tubal litigation done in 2020, same technique as you just had done. I chose the type (technique) with the best long-term outcomes, less overall scarring, reduced risk of pain/complication... which is also what you got.
Um, did you communicate you thought having your tubes tied was not a permanent sterilization...? That you did not WANT permanent sterilization? Typically communicating this to your Dr would disqualify you from being approved for the procedure. I am sorry you are struggling with your choice. I hope things get easier for you with time.
Do you think this woman has a case or is she ill-informed about the procedure she underwent?