HAIL – A 27-year-old woman has been added to the list of medical error victims after a gynecologist at Hail General Hospital accidentally removed her ovaries, prompting her husband to divorce her, Alsharq daily reported on Saturday. Nouf Al-Eneizi can no longer have children because of a mistake committed by a Syrian consultant at the hospital. Al-Eneizi was admitted to the hospital two years ago complaining of mild abdominal pain. The doctor diagnosed the case as an ovarian cyst and ordered a surgery during which he removed both ovaries without informing her. Three days later, she went back to the hospital because of constant pain in her abdominal area. Only then did the doctor tell her that her ovaries had been removed and that she could no longer conceive. He claimed the removal was necessary because keeping the ovaries would disrupt the functioning of her hormones and cause premature aging. “I broke down when he broke the news to me. When my husband learned about it, he immediately divorced me,” Al-Eneizi said. She went to Hail Health Affairs Directorate and filed a complaint against the doctor who destroyed her life. Moreover, she continues to suffer from severe abdominal pain ever since she underwent the surgery. A medical commission concluded two years ago that the doctor's decision was wrong and he should have formed a committee and sought the opinion of another expert in the field. The commission also said he failed to comply with procedures and went ahead with a major decision that cost a woman the ability to conceive. The commission said the doctor violated the generally-accepted medical practice standards in such cases. It found him guilty of committing a medical error. “The patient would have had a 50 percent chance of conceiving if the doctor had removed the right ovary and kept the left one,” the commission said in its report. He was also found responsible for causing the left ovary to lose its function. The doctor was ordered to pay SR150,000 to Al-Eneizi as compensation. Al-Eneizi told Alsharq she had been waiting for the implementation of the order for two years. She added the compensation is not commensurate with the damage caused to her by the doctor who challenged the commission's verdict and was allowed to travel. Hail Health Affairs Directorate has refused to implement the verdict until an appeal submitted by the doctor has been reviewed. She complained to the Bureau of Grievances but to no avail. “I relinquished the right for alimony so that my husband would allow my daughter to live with me. Supporting my daughter has put more burdens on my back. I get SR800 a month in social security aid but this money isn't enough to support me and my daughter,” Al-Eneizi said while calling on philanthropists to help her.
