A bit like a Robin Cook novel . .

OldMotherTucker

Could do with some help and advice on where to go with this.



Nearly 30 years ago, after the birth of her second child, my then, nearly 30 year old SIL was sterilised. She'd had severe postnatal depression.

The procedure was straight forward; a small incision either side of the belly button, air forced in to inflate the abdomen and both fallopian tubes clipped shut.

Post op, SIL had far more bruising and discomfort on her left hand side and, within a few months realised she wasn't getting her 'ovulation sensation' every month, just every other month.

As time went on, she became convinced that her left ovary had been removed without her permission. Within the family it's been a bit of a joke for decades. Anyway, due to my little windfall, I told exSIL, I would pay for her to have a private scan to put her mind at rest and she agreed that if both ovaries were still there, she'd take a vow of silence:D

She saw a different Gp than usual to ask about getting referred for a private scan and he proved to be as receptive as SIL was rational, because he said he'd refer her to be investigated for 'pelvic discrepancies' and guess what??

No left ovary!! The right one was present and clear but on the left side, NOTHING:eek::eek: During the 'search' for said left ovary, it was commented that they can shrink with age but are usually still visible and the shrinkage is symetrical.

So what would you do? I want to help her get some answers but I have little faith in the system. Also, I'm really freaked out by why 'they' would want an ovary filled with healthy eggs.

summerlady_2

It is very unlikely that her ovary would have been harvested, in my opinion, but she should have been informed if it had been removed during surgery.


If it had happened to me, I would first contact my GP so that he/she can check my notes - some anomaly in the sterilisation procedure may have been reported back to the GP.


If not, I would write to the Chief of the hospital and ask for an explanation and a copy of my notes from the surgery.


If there was an infection, it may have been necessary to remove the ovary. Perhaps she was notified at the time, but if she was still under the effects of the anaesthetic, may not have taken it in? Or her surgeon may have simply been an arrogant idiot who thought she didn't need to know? Or it could be a Robin Cook scenario.............


There are so many possibilities, but she needs information first.

Person_one

I think the obvious next step is to get hold of her medical records from that time period.

It may have been that the ovary had to be removed due to Complications during surgery, but you would expect that she'd have known of course. I wouldn't worry that anybody 'wanted' the ovary.

Mojisola

summerlady wrote: »

It is very unlikely that her ovary would have been harvested, in my opinion, but she should have been informed if it had been removed during surgery.

If not, I would write to the Chief of the hospital and ask for an explanation and a copy of my notes from the surgery.

If there was an infection, it may have been necessary to remove the ovary. Perhaps she was notified at the time, but if she was still under the effects of the anaesthetic, may not have taken it in? Or her surgeon may have simply been an arrogant idiot who thought she didn't need to know?

When my Dad had a major operation, the surgeon noticed his appendix was inflamed so removed that at the same time. He did tell Dad but in a jokey "You got a buy one operation, get a second for free" way and Dad didn't really take it in at first.

The GP should have a report from the hospital about the operation. If that doesn't mention the ovary removal, go for the hospital notes, as summerlady suggested.

thorsoak

Normally, in humans, after the onset of puberty, due to the stimulation of follicular-stimulating-hormone (FSH) one “egg” per cycle matures and is released from its ovary. One month the left ovary will release a potential egg and the next month the right ovary will release a potential egg. So the thought of an ovary full of eggs which could be viable is way off.

LilElvis

OP - "they" would have had no ulterior motive in removing an ovary as it would have been of no use to them.

Ovarian grafting did not exist 30 years ago, it is a very recent development. In any case it is used primarily to preserve a woman's fertility prior to cancer treatment - I have never heard of ovarian tissue being donated to another woman.

Ovaries contain immature eggs - of no use whatsoever in IVF treatment.

There won't have been any nefarious reason for a doctor to remove an ovary.

jackyann

There could be lots of reasons for this - including that she may have had a smaller left ovary that has diminished, or "hidden" by scar tissue - scans are not 100% accurate.

There could also be a good number of reasons for removing the ovary during an operation. I'd be surprised if the GP didn't check the notes at the initial request for a scan - but tell SiL to check with them first, then follow the procedures above.

FYI: standard procedure is:
consent form for such procedures as become necessary during the course of the operation
verbal information after the operation, and in writing to the GP (which is why I always ask for a copy of the letter to keep for myself)
no, it certainly won't be nefarious, but poor communication very likely!

PS: I am afraid that I am reminded of our family saying "never ask a question to which you don't wish to know the answer"

ognum

If you only have one ovary you still ovulate every month from that one ovary. It doesn't happen every other month as some have described.

The remaining ovary will take over and produce an egg each month.

ciderwithrosie_2

It may not be possible to access her notes from 30 years ago, there are loads of rules and regulations about how long records need to be kept for. They may have been microfiched though.

LilElvis

ognum wrote: »

If you only have one ovary you still ovulate every month from that one ovary. It doesn't happen every other month as some have described.

The remaining ovary will take over and produce an egg each month.

Pretty irrelevant if someone has been sterilised.

FBaby

LilElvis wrote: »

Pretty irrelevant if someone has been sterilised.

The issue here is not about being able to get pregnant, it is about whether they had two ovaries before the op, and only one now, and if so why.

I also understand that even with one ovary, they would take over and release an egg each month rather than every other, but don't know if that is the case if born with one and whether it would be the case too in the case of one being removed.

In any case, it is very odd indeed. The only reasonable explanation was that they discovered something on the ovary, a cyst or something that the clinician felt justified the removal of the ovary, and that was explained to her after the ops, but they didn't take it in then due to drugs or exhaustion or forgot about it.