Doctors From Hell: When Your Doctor Hacks Off Your Intimate Parts Without Consent

We’ve all heard about medical procedures gone wrong, but most people never think it can happen to us. However, each year in the United States, medical malpractice lawsuits have cost hospitals more than $10 billion. Doctors are not infallible and some mistakes are made, but when it’s blatant it causes lives to be changed and in some cases, death is the result.

What Happened?

A 52-year old Australian woman called Carolyn Dewaegeneire went to visit Dr A (whose full name is concealed for legal reasons) for a gynecological oncology consultation, upon the recommendation of her normal gynecologist on December 17^th, 2001. She had already been diagnosed with lichen slerosus, a long-term skin problem that usually affects the genitals, years before the visit. The patient told Dr A that her medical condition had so far not responded to all the previous recommended treatments, which included antifungal medications, estrogen and testosterone, antibacterial and steroid drugs. Dr A did an examination of the lady’s exterior genitalia and noted a whitish discoloration in the anterior vulva which was consistent with lichen sclerosus.

Follow Up Visit

On January 3^rd, 2002, Carolyn Dewaegeneire went back to Dr A for a follow-up visit. Her condition had not improved with clobetasol and she said her vulva was more irritated and itchy than before. The physician did another physical examination and saw scratch marks around the labia minora and majora, as well as a white discoloration around the perineal area.

On January 14^th, 2002, the doctor performed a simple vulvectomy. The procedure involved removing the superficial layers of skin around the labia minor and the anterior portion of the labia majora, the clitoral hood and the posterior area between the introitus and perianal area. The full thickness of the tissue was not excised and the doctor reported he did not remove the clitoris at that time. The surgery appeared to have gone well.

Next Appointment

The patient’s next appointment with Dr A took place on February 28^th, 2002. Dewaegeneire reported no pain or vaginal discharge and she did not have any complaints about her genitourinary or gastrointestinal systems. Dr A noted that the patient was healing well except for some oozing from the wound. Because of this, he told her to rest her pelvis and to avoid sexual intercourse, touching the area or using any tampons. 

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He advised her to return for another visit in a month, but she didn’t and she missed a follow-up scheduled for June 6^th, 2002. Consequently, the lady went and visited another gynecologist on June 8^th and June 27^th. At that time, she was being treated with metronidazole for a "vaginal problem".

Surgical Excision Of Clitoris Without Patient Consent

Subsequent Visits

DeWaegeneire visited Dr A many other times throughout 2002 and into 2003. In June, she saw the doctor again for a follow-up appointment. She reported no itching or bleeding in the perineal area, upon which Dr A noted a whitish dry scar near the woman’s clitoris, abrasions in the perineal area and scratch marks around the previous incision line. He sent her on her way with care instructions and told her to come back five weeks later.

She went back to Dr A on September 26^th, 2002 and complained of itching in her vulva.

DeWaegeneire came back to see Dr A on November 7^th, 2002, and told the doctor she had not used the testosterone cream he had given her. The doctor examined the woman and observed areas of lichen sclerosus and rectocele in the front wall of the rectum and into the vaginal area. He planned to do surgery and it included not only correction, but a second partial/simple vulvectomy and a posterior repair. He later testified that he wished to take care of the lichen issue first.

In February 2003, the woman returned to Dr A and complained about itching. After an exam was performed, it was confirmed that her lichen condition had returned, and Dr A performed another simple vulvectomy and laser vaporization of the clitoral hood and affected perineal area. He removed the simple layer of skin from the hood of the clitoris and left the rest of the clitoral hood and clitoris totally intact.

On June 27^th, 2003, the patient again visited Dr A and reported itching around her clitoris. A physical examination revealed a spot of recurrent lichen sclerosus in the perineal area. He prescribed clobestasol fourteen days and asked her to return in a month. He noted at that time a surgical re-excision would be needed. Subsequent records reveal that the woman’s lichen sclerosus had come back. DeWaegeneire had another operation, and she was 58 years old when it happened.

'I Am Going To Take Your Clitoris, Too'

The woman alleged that Dr A failed to obtain proper consent and failed to utilize alternate medical therapies, such as cryotherapy, photodynamic therapy and topical macrolide treatment, in lieu of surgery. The discolored patches on the patient's vulva were later identified as precancer. While Dr A initially denied having excised the entire clitoris, later pathology reports found that this had indeed been done. While Sharon Demmery, a theater nurse present at the operation, noticed that a rather large amount of tissue was being removed, Dr responded he needed to prevent the cancer from coming back. 

Though having procedures that are not agreed on in advance performed on you is certainly a reason to sue your doctor, the patient's story is altogether more horrifying. As her general anesthesia was about to set in, she said the following happened: "He leaned over me and, for my ears only, he said: 'I'm going to take your clitoris too.''' The patient further alleged that Dr A told her her "husband was dead so it did not matter anyway". 

DeWaegeneire  hired lawyers and filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr A. Before the case went to trial, it was settled in the amount of $2 million. We will probably never learn what truly happened during this case, but we can certainly conclude that informed consent is a precious thing indeed and we want to know exactly what will be happening to us if we are due to undergo any kind of surgery.

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Before you undergo any medical procedures, it is important that you have absolute trust in your physician. More than that, get the entire planned procedure in writing and discuss all concerns you have at length. All too often, people will take for granted that they “must” do what their doctor tells them, even if their gut tells them differently. If you have doubts about some type of treatment or surgical procedure your doctor is recommending, go out and get a second and third opinion, because it’s your body and you ultimately control what happens to it.