When Is a Failure To Diagnose And Treat Uterine Fibroids Considered Malpractice?

Uterine fibroids (or myomas) affect between 40 and 80 percent of women. They occur most often in women aged between 30 and 50 years old. They are rare in prepubescent girls, and fibroids typically calcify, shrink, and disappear in post-menopausal women. While most fibroids are harmless, failure to correctly diagnose and treat fibroids can lead to serious adverse health outcomes and unnecessary pain and suffering.

What Are Uterine Fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are the most common type of noncancerous tumors in women. They are growths of muscle and tissue that form in or on the uterine wall. Someone could have a single fibroid or many of them, and they can range in size from a growth that’s too small to see with the naked eye to the size of a small watermelon. In extreme cases, some fibroids can grow large enough to fill the abdominal area and can make a woman appear pregnant.

Most women are completely unaware that they have fibroids unless a doctor notices them during a routine pelvic exam. While these women typically don’t have any symptoms, issues can become more likely and severe depending on the size, location, and number of fibroids. 

Common symptoms of uterine fibroids include:

• painful or heavy periods
• longer or more frequent periods
• pressure or pain in or around the pelvis, lower back, or stomach area
• frequent or strained urination
• constipation

How Are Uterine Fibroids Treated?

Many uterine fibroids don’t require any treatment at all. Most are asymptomatic and cause no issues, if they are detected at all. If fibroids cause mild symptoms, many women opt to forgo serious medical intervention and treat their symptoms at home with anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen or naproxen. For symptoms that can’t be managed at home, many doctors recommend surgical removal of the fibroid. Depending on the specific case, this can range from a simple outpatient procedure to a complete hysterectomy. 

Complications can occur when an under-qualified physician performs unnecessary treatments. Victims of botched procedures have experienced infections, perforations, and necrosis (death) of the uterus, which can lead to an unplanned hysterectomy, as well as necrosis of the vagina, labia, buttocks, bladder, bowel, and kidney.

Can Uterine Fibroids Cause Uterine Cancer?

Fibroids are almost always benign. Doctors believe that these cancers do not generally come from already-existing fibroids and that having fibroids doesn’t in itself increase the likelihood of developing uterine cancer in the future. Because of this, it’s not accepted medical practice to intervene surgically simply due to a fear of confirmed benign fibroids becoming cancerous at some point in the future.

Can Uterine Cancer Be Mistaken for Fibroids?

Unfortunately, uterine cancer and fibroids share many of the same symptoms and may look similar on an ultrasound. Because of this, biopsies and further diagnostic imaging are often required if new fibroids are detected or new or worsening symptoms are present. It should never be assumed that a new growth is non-cancerous or benign without a definitive diagnosis.

How Can Malpractice Occur When It Comes to Fibroids?

Confirmed uterine fibroids are by definition benign and asymptomatic. Because of this, when a woman learns she has “tumors” in her uterus, she may agree to an unnecessary surgical procedure. 

When a doctor implies that confirmed fibroids may become cancerous in the future or that removing the uterus is the only way to relieve a woman of her symptoms just because of benign fibroids, malpractice becomes a real possibility. Likewise, when an unnecessary surgery is performed, or a less-than-qualified surgeon performs a necessary surgery, and complications arise, the offending medical professional could be held liable for malpractice.

Even more critically, if a doctor presumes that a uterine mass is a benign fibroid and fails to rule out a uterine cancer, then delays in diagnosis can occur that can lead to catastrophic outcomes for women and their families.

Pennsylvania’s Ross Feller Casey Helps Victims Of Medical Malpractice

Suppose surgical removal of a fibroid resulted in serious medical complications, such as uterine necrosis, hysterectomy, serious infection, or death. In that case, you should consider the possibility that your physician was negligent in their responsibility to provide the proper standard of care.

At Ross Feller Casey, we’ve built a reputation for helping victims of medical malpractice. Our team of expert attorneys and Ivy League-trained doctors know that surgery should be reserved as the option of last resort. If we have reason to believe that another doctor would have done things differently and achieved a better result, we’ll do everything in our power to ensure you get the justice and compensation you deserve. Contact us today for your free consultation.