A 25-year-old Queensland woman says she will no longer be able to have children naturally after she claims she was sterilised without her consent by a doctor who had previously been disciplined for a similar mistake.
Mother-of-two Kaitlyn Boyle, who was admitted to the embattled maternity unit at Gladstone Hospital in January for a routine caesarean section, discovered her fallopian tubes had been permanently removed despite saying she had clearly refused the procedure before surgery.
Mrs Boyle and her husband Jarrad have lodged a complaint with Gladstone Hospital as well as written to local member Glenn Butcher, with Central Queensland Health confirming the incident was currently being reviewed.
But a Sunday Mail investigation has found the same obstetrician, Mohamed El Sayed Abdeen, was cautioned a decade ago for performing a tubal ligation on a patient without her consent or knowledge in NSW – and she only found out seven years later when trying to conceive.
The Health Care Complaints Commission in 2014 found that Dr Abdeen performed the tubal ligation on the woman – who was not named in the judgment – without consent but also failed to record the procedure in any medical record, leaving the woman completely in the dark on her own body for years.
Ahead of her c-section in January, Mrs Boyle had given written consent to have her fallopian tubes tied during the procedure, but said that minutes before the surgery Dr Abdeen asked if she would verbally consent to a salpingectomy – which involves the removal of fallopian tubes – instead.
The mum had asked for her tubes to be tied due to problems with contraceptives but wanted the option to have children later in life, refusing the salpingectomy unless a medical complication required it.
“I had gone in for the tubal ligation knowing that it could be reversed and there was that chance we could have more kids in the future, but obviously now that choice has been completely taken away from us,” she said.
“I know the only way I’m ever going to have kids again is if I have IVF, which realistically isn’t an option for us considering the cost, that’s why I am working through it with my psychologist at the moment. It’s difficult because, I look at my kids and I’m like oh I’m never going to get that again if that’s what I wanted, so it does upset me.”
She said she was left horrified when Dr Abdeen revealed after the surgery he had removed the organs, saying it was to reduce her risk of ovarian cancer. But Mrs Boyle said she had no risk factors for the disease.
“He sterilised me. He took that choice away,” Mrs Boyle, who has two young children, said.
“If I think about it too much it just escalates to the point where I’m having a mental breakdown.
“It’s really impacted my ability to look after my two kids the way I should be able to.”
Documents from the 2014 inquiry show that the woman, dubbed ‘Patient A’, unknowingly had her tubes tied by Dr Abdeen at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital in 2003.
“Patient A stated that when she first saw Dr Abdeen in the antenatal clinic he asked her whether she wished to have a tubal ligation as she was about to have her fourth child by caesarean section,” the public documents reveal.
“She said she was very offended by the question as she was only 35 at the time and her sister had a child at the age of 41.
“When asked how she became aware that she had had a tubal ligation, she said that after trying two cycles of Clomid (infertility medication) she was advised by (her doctor) that she had had a tubal ligation, and that he had told her that in 25 years of practice he had never seen ‘anything like this’ happen.”
“Dr Abdeen said he must have been distracted while writing the report not to have included the tubal ligation, and this was a real deviation from his normal practice,” the HCCC inquiry documents show.
“Dr Abdeen had every opportunity to clarify the patient’s wishes both before and following the performance of the caesarean section, and also to make sure that the consent was documented. He was careless in failing to do so,” the inquiry heard
“Despite the extremely serious nature of his malpractice, Dr Abdeen was let off with just a caution in 2014 because “11 years had passed since the events in question” and “there had been no other adverse findings made against Dr Abdeen.”
The HCCC inquiry found Dr Abdeen’s conduct amounts to unsatisfactory professional conduct in that the care he exercised, according to documents.
Now, 12 years later, Mrs Boyle said she felt “betrayed” that she was never informed of the caution against Dr Abdeen and could not believe she was suffering a near-similar fate to Patient A at the hands of the same doctor.
Premier David Crisafulli said Mrs Boyle deserves justice.
“It’s a really, really big issue and Queensland Health have committed to doing a review as we saw in the north of the state,” he said.
it will be independent and it has to drive consequences and it has to drive justice for that woman.”
Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Lisa Blackler said that a clinical incident has been recorded and an independent review of the care provided was currently under way.
“This includes a detailed clinical assessment led by senior clinicians, examining clinical decision-making, informed consent processes and post-operative care. The outcomes of this review will inform appropriate action in line with Queensland Health policy,” he said.
“I want to acknowledge the concerns raised by Ms Boyle and her family. We have been in contact with the family to ensure their concerns are fully heard, to outline the review process, and to offer ongoing support,” he said.
Central Queensland Health assured the community that the HHS maintains rigorous, transparent recruitment and credentialling processes for all clinicians, including consideration of professional history.
“Patient safety remains our priority, supported by strong clinical governance and oversight across our health service.”
The Sunday Mail contacted Dr Abdeen for comment but he did not respond before publication.