Medical operation carelessness

[Cronesquerness]

Hello
Many years ago I had an oophorectomy [ovary removed] and in order for the surgeon to remove the ovary/cysts they [but I'm sure it was a he] made an incision across my body, just above my pubic hair line. This incision caused me to have what I call an 'overhang' and others call an 'apron' and/or a 'matron's apron' . I asked for the experiences of women who have had a caesarian or other gynae op and where their incisions were made and I have learned that my incision was made too high. Women who have had the same and similar operations as I have, have different experiences based on their incisions and also partly, the way we/they were sewed back together after the op.
On the AIBU board there is an account from a woman who has never had a pregnancy, is athletic and had an ovarian cyst which was operated on, she now feels that her body is ruined, she has an overhang caused by a too high incision. Where do we go to demand recompense for this? Also where do I go to inform surgeons that they are "doing it wrong?" I would welcome any advice regarding, do we have a case for negligence against those surgeons who have operated on us with lack of care and foresight or were they setting up their cosmetic surgery businesses?

How long ago did you have this op. Was it explained clearly to you at the time. Only a medical lawyer with all the evidence and professional opinions can advise if you have a case. How do you think you can tell surgeons they are doing it wrong, you need expert advice, research, statistics, medical knowledge.

My CS scar is just above my pubes too and have an overhang. It's supposed to be there - any lower and they hit bone. Is it an issue?

Many women feel that their bodies are ugly with the overhang and it does cause problems with the way some of us feel about ourselves. I have been reading women's experiences and those women whose incision was made just below the pubic hair line do not have an overhang. The surgeons who cut us higher than that and which cause the overhang need to be told that there is a way of operating on us without disfiguring us. I was recently talking to someone who worked in a hospital and they told me that surgeons don't criticise each other's work and so surgeons continue to disfigure women when there is no need to do so. I asked here to see if this would be classed as medical negligence because even though we mostly accept that our bodies will be dramatically different after these types of surgeries, it does not need to be so.

You say it was many years ago so that incision may have been standard for the time. Any kind of legal case would judge actions against the norm for the time and gynae surgery is an area that has advanced a lot recently with laparoscopic procedures becoming more common. There's also a time limit for negligence cases - usually 3 years I think, although you can argue for 3 years from when you realised there was a problem.

As muscles are going to be disturbed wherever the incision is made people may end up with an overhang even if the incision is low. Some of it will be down to how you heal etc.

That's a good point, Isittimeforbed, and one I had not considered. Maybe that incision was standard when my op was carried out. I shall investigate further, thanks.

Safety and ease of procedure would surely cone above cosmetic issues? Unless he was the only surgeon operating this way against general guidelines?

As a retired theatre nurse I can say the incision you describe is a standard one for the removal of an ovary

You seem to have a bit of a problem accepting what happened, are there other concerns behind this

Perhaps a chat with your gp may set your mind at rest

There really is no case to sue for, you need to try and make peace with your surgery

Also to reassure you many of the surgeons I worked worked with went out of their way to try and make incisions as neat and as discreet as possible for patients

Ultimately when muscles divide in the abdomen during pregnancy women are often left with an amount of loose skin and an overhang this is sometimes accentuated post c section, it’s natural

Yes, you tell those experienced surgeons how they should be doing it