Sadly, your experience is common. Many women are adamant with the gynecologist, nurses and anesthesiologist that they do not consent to hysterectomy, they consent only to exploratory surgery and conservative treatment. When they are given a consent form to sign, it generally says "Exploratory laparoscopy or hysteroscopy and possible TAH/BSO". When they ask what that means, and are told it's total abdominal hysterectomy and removal of their ovaries, they do not want to sign. They often ask to see the doctor, so they can discuss it, and they're told they will see the doctor in the operating room before they do anything, and that she can be sure the doctor will only do what they verbally agree to. She's told everyone who has exploratory laparoscopy signs this consent form, and she's treated like a recalcitrant bad child who is unreasonably delaying everyone's surgery by not cooperating. The doctor assures her he will not remove her uterus or ovaries, and with the nurses and anesthesiologist aware of this agreement, she signs. That, unfortunately does not protect the majority of women. They most often come out of the operating room without their uterus and ovaries.
You would think they could sue, but it is almost impossible to get a lawyer to take their case because they signed the consent form. The doctor and hospital staff will not testify that she was bullied or lulled into signing, so it's her word against the doctor. Jury's invariably side with the doctor.
In my case my attorney husband did not want me to sign the consent form. He caused the planned exploratory surgery to be delayed while he pursued having a new consent form drawn that said exploratory laparoscopy, possible exploratory laparotomy and cystectomy, it had no caveat about possible removal of my uterus or ovaries. That did not deter the gynecologist from removing my uterus and both ovaries.
I came out of the operating room without my female organs. My attorney husband did not support my filing a medical malpractice case. He practiced law all day, and did not want to come home to discussion about a lawsuit. Without his support I did not feel that I could manage keeping myself and our family together while pursing a lawsuit.
The circumstances of "anonymous" is typical. This is not just about money, this is about power. The power to remove the female organs knowing full well that it is not what women want.
There are a few women commenting on blogs and articles that women who are posting all over the internet, in every venue they can, about the consequences of hysterectomy. It's said as an accusation, as though they are doing something self-serving. But it is the opposite. They giving other women the benefit of their experience, which is not atypical, they and I represent what is being done to women every minute of every hour in the US. They refuse to be silent and become part of the problem, they are the solution, they will stop this from being done to women.
The tide is turning. It is women like "anonymous" who ring the alarm that women all over the world are paying attention to, and when at all possible, they are staying out of the operating room. When they have a condition that needs treatment, many women are handing gynecologists HERS Hysterectomy Pamphlet and "The H Word" and telling them to educate themselves. Five years ago doctors were saying "You read too much, stop reading". Today many are saying "I know about the HERS Foundation, they're educating women about their bodies, they're do an great job". Knowing that, after 27 years of educating women about their anatomy, the alternatives to hysterectomy and the consequences of the surgery, HERS will be public about what they are doing in the operating room. In growing numbers, women who are lied to about what surgery will be done, and the consequences of hysterectomy and castration, are refusing to be silent or silenced. Together, HERS and their voices are changing this for the next generation of women and girls.
It has taken us 27 years to get here. Now the work truly begins to expand the information so that it reaches every woman and man, and to legislate the required "Hysterectomy Anatomy Video Education" consent law.
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Sadly, your experience is common. Many women are adamant with the gynecologist, nurses and anesthesiologist that they do not consent to hysterectomy, they consent only to exploratory surgery and conservative treatment. When they are given a consent form to sign, it generally says "Exploratory laparoscopy or hysteroscopy and possible TAH/BSO". When they ask what that means, and are told it's total abdominal hysterectomy and removal of their ovaries, they do not want to sign. They often ask to see the doctor, so they can discuss it, and they're told they will see the doctor in the operating room before they do anything, and that she can be sure the doctor will only do what they verbally agree to. She's told everyone who has exploratory laparoscopy signs this consent form, and she's treated like a recalcitrant bad child who is unreasonably delaying everyone's surgery by not cooperating. The doctor assures her he will not remove her uterus or ovaries, and with the nurses and anesthesiologist aware of this agreement, she signs. That, unfortunately does not protect the majority of women. They most often come out of the operating room without their uterus and ovaries.
You would think they could sue, but it is almost impossible to get a lawyer to take their case because they signed the consent form. The doctor and hospital staff will not testify that she was bullied or lulled into signing, so it's her word against the doctor. Jury's invariably side with the doctor.
In my case my attorney husband did not want me to sign the consent form. He caused the planned exploratory surgery to be delayed while he pursued having a new consent form drawn that said exploratory laparoscopy, possible exploratory laparotomy and cystectomy, it had no caveat about possible removal of my uterus or ovaries. That did not deter the gynecologist from removing my uterus and both ovaries.
I came out of the operating room without my female organs. My attorney husband did not support my filing a medical malpractice case. He practiced law all day, and did not want to come home to discussion about a lawsuit. Without his support I did not feel that I could manage keeping myself and our family together while pursing a lawsuit.
The circumstances of "anonymous" is typical. This is not just about money, this is about power. The power to remove the female organs knowing full well that it is not what women want.
There are a few women commenting on blogs and articles that women who are posting all over the internet, in every venue they can, about the consequences of hysterectomy. It's said as an accusation, as though they are doing something self-serving. But it is the opposite. They giving other women the benefit of their experience, which is not atypical, they and I represent what is being done to women every minute of every hour in the US. They refuse to be silent and become part of the problem, they are the solution, they will stop this from being done to women.
The tide is turning. It is women like "anonymous" who ring the alarm that women all over the world are paying attention to, and when at all possible, they are staying out of the operating room. When they have a condition that needs treatment, many women are handing gynecologists HERS Hysterectomy Pamphlet and "The H Word" and telling them to educate themselves. Five years ago doctors were saying "You read too much, stop reading". Today many are saying "I know about the HERS Foundation, they're educating women about their bodies, they're do an great job". Knowing that, after 27 years of educating women about their anatomy, the alternatives to hysterectomy and the consequences of the surgery, HERS will be public about what they are doing in the operating room. In growing numbers, women who are lied to about what surgery will be done, and the consequences of hysterectomy and castration, are refusing to be silent or silenced. Together, HERS and their voices are changing this for the next generation of women and girls.
It has taken us 27 years to get here. Now the work truly begins to expand the information so that it reaches every woman and man, and to legislate the required "Hysterectomy Anatomy Video Education" consent law.
December 4, 2011 - 8:28amThis Comment
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