Pregnant woman had cyst removed but surgeon removes too much tissue

Woman receives £100,000 after she developed a cyst on her labia which needed surgery.

26 year old Holly, was heavily pregnant with her first child in 2005 when she developed a cyst on her labia. The cyst was drained but only a week after giving birth, the cyst reappeared and Holly had to have surgery.

During the surgery, which was to remove a tunnel which had formed from where the abscess had been, the surgeon removed an unnecessary amount of genital tissue.

As a result, Holly had difficulty sitting, wearing certain clothes and she experienced general discomfort.

She felt pain during sexual intercourse and also had a mixture of anxiety and depression which resulted in her turning to alcohol.

Holly was unable to cope with her physical and emotion problems at work and, as a result, she resigned and has not returned to work since.

Potter Rees Dolan was successful in settling Holly's claim for £100,000 but has been told she is now at a greater risk of needing a colostomy at some point in the future.

Lesley Herbertson acted for Holly and commented:

When I first met Holly, she was very upset by what happened to her at the hands of the surgeon as she had been left with physical disfigurement to a very sensitive and private part of her body and all the emotional effect that that had understandably had on her.

However, by working through the case together, during which Holly could see the efforts that were being made on her behalf, and culminating in a successful outcome, it has been wonderful to see the gradual transformation in Holly.

Following settlement, Holly feels vindicated and justified in pursuing her claim, about which she felt so strongly, and the effect of that on her state of mind has been a pleasure to watch.