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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

aibu to question this?

41 replies

Justaquestion2020 · 09/03/2020 13:34

I have posted here in the hope someone could help. I’ve also name changed as it will be very outing and want to hide my other posts.

For anyone that has had a hysterectomy has it been on your medical records? What about if you had one at a private hospital, would it still be noted on you GP records?

A family member passed away in hospital very suddenly after a mistake by medical professionals. She had been in theatre for a total of 6 hours time for something that should have taken 30 minutes. We haven’t been told what fully happened in there. This was a day before she passed.

At the autopsy the pathologist listed her as having an absent womb. There is no mention of her having had a hysterectomy on her notes. Not anywhere. Every other time she has been in hospital/ to the Gp’s is down but no hysterectomy.
Her youngest child is 21, and I have been very close to her for All those years and have never known her to have a stay in hospital, take it easy, or have seen any scars, although I now know a hysterectomy can be done by a laparoscopy so scars aren’t are only small that way.
Her husband/children and close family have never known of her to have had one too.

Aibu to wonder what has happened? If it isn’t in her notes I question whether they needed to remove it during her time in theatre but haven’t noted it. Yes, I know they should do that. But, what else could have happened?

OP posts:
Stressedout10 · 09/03/2020 13:38

Yes it would be on her records

mauvaisereputation · 09/03/2020 13:42

Yanbu at all, that’s very odd. It seems likelier to me that the pathologist made a mistake than that it was taken out in surgery without being recorded though. However, I completely agree that you should try to get to the bottom of of it.

TokyoSushi · 09/03/2020 13:42

How strange, I'd be fairly certain that it would be in her notes

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 09/03/2020 13:42

Could it have been taken out during her last delivery? Maybe there was some sort of medical emergency and the Dh forgot the details.

Original poster
Justaquestion2020 · 09/03/2020 13:45

Sorry, I should add. There were 2 post mortems performed separately by 2 individual pathologists. Both noted the uterus was absent.

OP posts:
Original poster
Justaquestion2020 · 09/03/2020 13:46

It definitely wasn’t taken out in her last delivery. She was out of hospital the next morning with the last baby. And her labour was very straight forward, from her own saying and judging by her labour records

OP posts:
Worriedmum54321 · 09/03/2020 13:48

It should definitely be on the hospital records if it was removed during the operation that was performed before she died. I think you should try to get these notes. You are legally allowed your own,I'm not sure about deceased relatives. G.P notes don't always include every detail - hospitals just send a summary - also is it possible that the notes from the g.p don't include referral letters ? Is there any shorthand or jargon that you may not have understood? You would think the lady's husband would know though.

BarbaraofSeville · 09/03/2020 13:51

If you have medical treatment in hospital they write to your GP about it. It's all probably done electronically now, but I have memories in the past of being in hospital and being given a letter 'to give to my GP'.

Maybe she had the hysterectomy, was given the letter, but never gave it to her GP? Has she always lived with her DH? Hysterectomies take signficant recovery time that he would definitely notice, unless they weren't in contact for a minimum of several weeks, maybe longer.

Sounds like an awful situation, with the shock of her sudden passing made worse by the confusion about the hysterectomy Flowers

ErmYeahNo · 09/03/2020 13:53

Ok firstly sorry for your loss! 💐
Now without meaning to sound harsh, unless I was staying in for days, there's no way I'd tell anyone except my husband if I was having an operation like that, it's just too personal. And maybe her husband either doesn't know or doesn't want to break his late wife's confidence.
How close of a family member are you that you have access to her medical records?

Original poster
Justaquestion2020 · 09/03/2020 13:53

It should definitely be on there yes, but the same hospital also performed the surgery on the wrong body part which caused her death so I don’t have 100% faith in their notes. There is a lot of contradiction from people in theatre with one saying the registra fainted whilst performing surgery ‘possibly’ injuring the patient.

There are also solicitors involved, they can not find anything about it either.
I have every medical notes of hers. Been through them 1000 times. Everything else is listed. Even when she visited the GP for observations for repeat prescriptions etc. All hospital referral letters are in the notes.
Her notes include other surgeries she had in the past.

OP posts:
Original poster
Justaquestion2020 · 09/03/2020 13:55

It’s my mum. If my dad knew he would 100% tell me. They have always lived together. My mum would have definitely told me also. I am a lot older, lived round the corner from my mum and see her every day.

OP posts:
urinetroubleagain · 09/03/2020 13:59

Sorry for your loss.
Can you ask her husband ?
Doesn’t the post mortem detail external scars that could explain that the uterus was removed.
I have scars due to an op, that could explain why a certain part of me no longer there.

urinetroubleagain · 09/03/2020 14:01

Oh I’m so sorry , just saw you update. That rather change things, how awful for you.

ErmYeahNo · 09/03/2020 14:03

Ok it changes things being your mum.
Perhaps you should make a complaint about the hospital conduct, an investigation will be done.
Again sorry for your loss! 💐

ErmYeahNo · 09/03/2020 14:05

PALS is the place to lodge a complaint if it's NHS 💐

FridaBorgen · 09/03/2020 14:09

OP I think you should speak to a medical negligence solicitor. Nothing can bring your mum back, but this sounds like a very clear case of medical negligence and you should be given some compensation for that, even just to make life a bit easier. By all means go through PALS in the meantime, but speak to a solicitor too.

I am so sorry for your loss.

FridaBorgen · 09/03/2020 14:09

Sorry, cross post - I‘m glad you’ve spoken to someone Flowers

katy1213 · 09/03/2020 14:13

But why does it matter now? It doesn't seem to be related to her death.

Original poster
Justaquestion2020 · 09/03/2020 14:33

It matters to me.

If my mum went into hospital with an organ, and that organ wasn’t with her when she came out of I want to know what has happened to it.

OP posts:
MagnoliaJustice · 09/03/2020 14:36

Oh gosh, sincere condolences on the loss of your mum, that's terrible. You have every right to ask for information about the results of the post-mortem and I hope you get some answers. Perhaps her uterus was removed during the final surgery? Is that a possibility?

Cohle · 09/03/2020 14:39

I'm sorry for you loss OP Thanks

I hope you've involved solicitors - the legal route is probably your best bet to get proper answers here.

It does seem most likely that it occurred during the final surgery.

TabbyMumz · 09/03/2020 14:40

Why do you think your Mum and Dad would have told you if she'd had a hysterectomy? My Mum had one and my parents never told me till a few years ago. I was shocked I hadnt known. Sometimes private ops dont end up on N HS records.

WinterCat · 09/03/2020 14:42

I’m sorry to hear about your mum. Flowers Can the pathologists detail further whether they believe it to have been a recent operation?

Did your mum work? The usual recovery period from a hysterectomy is around six weeks so I would have expected her GP to have signed her off work, therefore, it would be on her notes that way.

Original poster
Justaquestion2020 · 09/03/2020 14:47

The medical negligence solicitor is dealing with the case but to be honest I just don’t have the money to hire one so have had to use a no win no fee solicitors. They seem interested in moving forward for a claim but I have to be on their case constantly for other things. We just want the hospital to admit their wrong doings.
I’m not interested in Any money from the trust, I really do just want answerers, and an apology and to ensure this doesn’t happen again. The no win no fee solicitors seem to be pushing purely for a ‘payout’ because that’s obviously how they get paid.

At the first inquest it lacked information. Doctors contradicted each other, their statements differed to what they said in the court. We have had a lot more information since then and I have spoken to the coroners office and the coroner has suggested that we get in touch with the high court for a 2nd inquest. Which I have asked the solicitors to do.Her death certificate states differently to the reason that she actually passed.

OP posts:
Grumpbum123 · 09/03/2020 14:53

I’m so sorry you’re going through this

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