Surgeon claiming someone else did my surgery

[Lima1]

This is an odd one and I am not sure whether or not I need to look further into it.
I had mid cycle spotting and changes to my cycle about 2.5 years ago. GP referred me to the colposcopy unit and I had a vaginal ultrasound and hysteroscopy. A female Asian woman (her race is important for what comes later) carried out these tests and she spotted 2 polpys one in my cervix and one in my womb. She pointed them out to me, they looked like little mushrooms. She said they needed to be removed as they have the potential to turn cancerous.
A month later I was booked into hospital to have them removed under general anesthetic. I was reluctant to have a general and I was informed before the procedure that they could do it with a local to which I gladly agreed.
I remember being brought into surgery, I met a female nurse and male anesthetist who left as he wasn't needed and the surgeon. I didn't take much notice of the surgeon but if you asked me after the fact I would have said it was the same woman who did the tests. It was an Asian lady as well but with the mask on I couldn't swear to it and cross racial identification has its difficulties.
I was awake during the procedure, she spoke to me a couple of times, I remember the comments she made.
All was good and I had no spotting for 18/20 months until it resumed earlier this year. I had spotting, much heavier bleeding, periods lasting longer and more painful. Went back to GP and we felt maybe the polyps were back.
Got another appt at the Colposcopy until. Met the same lady as the first time. She was very rude her opening comments were:
" I saw you here two years ago, I recommended you get the coil (she did for heavy periods) but you did nothing about it and are back again. Do you intend on coming here to me every two years".

I was very taken aback, I said I had polyps the last time, no problems after their removal until a few months ago when I developed similar symptoms and myself and GP thought maybe polyps were back.
She said she read the surgical notes and no polyps were removed as none detected during the surgery. I said this was news to me and GP and that we had not been informed of same and both of us were operating under the impression the two polyps had been removed.

She did a vaginal ultrasound and took a biopsy of my cervix, she then sat me down and went through the notes of the surgery. She said a man carried out the surgery, that she couldn't read his notes, that the photos he took of my cervix or womb were not clear but that it was written in the notes that no polyps were recognized.
She was quite rude, kept pushing me to have a coil fitted, made it seem like I was wasting her time there, etc.

Anyway the point is I am 100% sure a woman carried out the surgery and I am 80% sure it was an Asian woman and my impression was it was her. It was definitely a women talking to me during the procedure (I couldn't see as the curtain was up) no man was introduced to me in theatre as doing the operation.
I am now a bit worried if something has gone wrong somewhere. If notes were mixed up or she is covering for herself.
I am considering asking for a copy of my notes.

The local anesthetic made me drowsy so I cant be 100% sure of everything but I can be that sure that it was a woman down there.

Does this sound strange?

But this is really odd! And a disgrace.

Either they misdiagnosed you right at the start and there were NO polyps for whoever to remove, OR they have muddled up you and someone else.

She did a vaginal ultrasound and took a biopsy of my cervix, she then sat me down and went through the notes of the surgery. She said a man carried out the surgery, that she couldn't read his notes, that the photos he took of my cervix or womb were not clear but that it was written in the notes that no polyps were recognized

Soooooo....either she misdiagnosed you and there were no polyps OR the person who did the procedure didn't find any (so they were at fault?).

What was shown this time when she examined you?
Do you have a polyp(s) now or not? What did she find this time?

You said you had a local for the procedure- did you have IV sedation ? because a local in your cervix would not normally make you 'out of it'.

Well 3 things strike me 1) she was rude 2) you need to know definitely if polyps were removed and who did the surgery and 3) I would be VERY unimpressed with someone trying to force the coil on to me.

Contact PALS and ask for help.

I have been under gynae for several years and find many of them quite rude tbh. Contact medical records and get your notes sent over. I did this two weeks ago (although they sent me someone else’s notes but that’s another story!). On a side note I’m in the same position as you. I’ve had uterine polyps removed twice but a scan a few weeks back have shown they have grown back. They keep pushing the mirena but I do not want it. I wanted an ablation under a local anaesthetic which the gynaecologist agreed to 4 years ago but on the day of the procedure (after my pre meds etc) the anaesthetist came along and refused to do it under a local so here I am 4 years later back in the same position!

You've just reminded me, in the past few weeks I got a copy of my results from another test and it said that I'd been referred for anaemia and something else. I had never heard that I had anaemia. I rang the GP and he said that I was slap bang in the middle of the normal range for haemoglobin. Weird. And that surgeon or whatever he was, was incredibly rude to me too. No bedside manner.

I don't think this was remotely appropriate (based on what you have said), but I am struggling to see what being Asian has to do with anything at all. There are lots of Asian professionals - did you think perhaps that a hospital would only have one?

I have a friend who every time she goes to GP surgery has to make sure they bring up the correct medical record, think along the lines of Sarah Jones with no middle name and there is another Sarah Jones again no middle name at the same practise with the same date of birth. Their addresses are how they identify them on the system. There have been problems in the past where the wrong information was put onto the wrong Sarah.

This is either someone else's notes have been put on your records by mistake or they are reading from the wrong records but you need to get to the bottom of it. Email the hospital to see your patient file.

my colleague sat through a meeting with her consultant in which she had to repeatedly state that they must have got someone else's notes. she refused to leave the appointment (!) until they checked (she is really rather bolshy!) and lo and behold they finally admitted it.

It's completely possible so I think you should push this.

The GP wont get a detail letter from the hospital. From experience, some of the letters are basic at best.

Get the notes, also after surgery the surgery the surgeon should come and tell you what was found and removed,

also after surgery the surgery the surgeon should come and tell you what was found and removed,

Except I can tell you that this did not happen in my case.

call the medical practice board and report her
contact a solicitor

What stupid advice and a waste of everyone's time. Tell your GP what happened and request a copy of the hospital notes and take it from there.

OP if you were awake for this procedure were they not talking you through what they did and reassuring you?

Did you not get a result of the histology on the polyps? (In a letter to both you and your GP as is normal practise.)

Did you not expect to get that result?

the person you see at the appointments is the person who does the procedures Not in my case.

I went to my annual follow up after cancer treatment and my doctor just screamed at me. He was absolutely convinced I hadn’t come in for years. The pages he had at the top of my notes were from years ago. I of course had no idea where the missing pages went and he wouldn’t believe me that I wasn’t shirking my care, even when I pointed out that he writes the prescriptions that keep me alive and if I hadn’t followed up for years I would have run out of meds. He just glanced at a page and made up his mind to not listen. I had to find a new specialist.

I was told they can't do it under local, only GA as you have to be completely still when they let off the nuclear bomb in your womb

I had it done under sedation, not GA. They point blank refused anything stronger than sedation.

YANBU, that sounds very odd.

@PatriciaPerch A nuclear bomb? WTF! Are you talking of removal of a polyp? They use a tiny instrument to remove it just like they do for a biopsy of the lining- both of which I had with nothing - no local, no GA.

@lowkee removing a polyp is a biopsy. They arent being an idiot, a biopsy doesnt mean anything concerning. Presumably everything did look normal

@Lowkee

also after surgery the surgery the surgeon should come and tell you what was found and removed,

Except I can tell you that this did not happen in my case.

I had multiple surgeries a few years back, and not once did the surgeon speak to me about what they had done or anything afterwards. I only saw the surgeon once, and that was when DH begged for a secnd opinion as they were trying t kick me out when I swear to god it felt like I was dying. Somehow, the surgeon was the one that came for second opinion, and then he took me straight back to theatre as there were 'obvious complications that have not been picked up on'

That was the only time I spoke to the surgeon at all. I was under the impression that they should explain, possibly both before and after, side effects, whats been done, what to loo out for etc.

Come to think of it, I wasn't told much at all by anyone, which pissed off my GP as I had additional issues that wouldn't have happened had I been given aftercare in the right way.

So yeah, it does happen. Not sure how common, but it happens, where surgeons do NOT talk to you about it.

All this said, the fact that they are making out it was a guy who did it when it wasn't is extremely weird and confusing. I would ask for the details held on you, to find out whats actually going on tbh.

Oh man yes, the mirena coil. I've had two separate consultant gynaecologists try to push one on me, as well as the Pill. I really don't want hormonal treatment when you've got no blooming evidence it's a hormonal problem and when, in fact, my blood tests show normal hormone levels. The first consultant discharged me back to my GP and refused to treat me anymore when I refused the Pill - he just said there was nothing else they could do for me if I refused the only treatment offered. This was after he hadn't given me any patient information about the cauterisation of the cervix he'd carried out it had had horrible after effects. Cue a further 6 years of bleeding/spotting for 25 days a month.

OP, do you recall if you went to an aftercare/outpatients appointment at the hospital following your surgery? Not sure if they do that where you are, but in Australia you normally have a follow up appointment with the surgeon after the procedure to check in and discuss recovery/symptoms/pain and aftercare.