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Eye-opening study into risks of hysterectomy

I was very interested to read the recent study published by the Royal College of Midwives looking at the risks associated with different methods of hysterectomy and the emphasis which seems to have been placed on properly consulting women about the options and the real risks involved.

It seems to be a widely known fact that an abdominal hysterectomy carries higher risks of the patient suffering severe bleeding (haemorrhaging) and requiring readmission to hospital following surgery than hysterectomies which are done either vaginally or laparoscopically (keyhole surgery).

However, the recent study found that out of over 32,000 vaginal and laparoscopic procedures, 1.5% of them were converted to open surgery during the actual surgery itself and that the risks of haemorrhaging and readmission were higher in those cases than with abdominal hysterectomies.

The emphasis of the study seems to me to be quite clear; women should be told of the risk of haemorrhaging and readmission for all eventualities including where a procedure is converted to an open procedure mid-way through so they have all the information necessary to make an informed choice.

It also emphasized the fact that if conversion to open surgery is becoming more and more frequent then there needs to be a real look at whether those patients ought to have been listed for the vaginal or laparoscopic procedure in the first instance.

From my point of view, this study is quite eye-opening in respect of its willingness to encourage clinicians to consider if they are proceeding with the most appropriate surgery and also encourages a more open and honest dialect with women about the risks of surgery to ensure they can make an informed decision.

Proper consent given once you have had all the necessary information needed to make a decision is so important and is something we have been talking about for a while so it is great to see a study which has picked up this idea and really run with it.

Read about our client who received thousands in compensation after having a hysterectomyhousands in compensation after having a hysterectomy when she suffered a pelvic infection during IVF treatment.

Hannah Bottomley is a clinical negligence solicitor with PotterReesDolan. Should you have any queries about clinical negligence issues and wish to speak with Hannah or any other member of the team please contact us on 0161 237 5888.

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