KEY POINTS:
Tariana Turia's niece had her uterus perforated during surgery by former Wanganui Hospital gynaecologist Roman Hasil, the Maori Party co-leader said today.
She suffered "excruciating" pain for two weeks after surgery and ended up having to have a second operation to repair the damage, Mrs Turia said.
Dr Hasil, who resigned from the hospital last Monday, is being investigated by Whanganui District Health Board and the Health and Disability Commissioner for failed sterilisation procedures which left six women pregnant.
Mrs Turia told the Wanganui Chronicle her niece was hospitalised for about four days in October to receive treatment for severe pain after the remains of a miscarriage failed to leave her body naturally.
Her niece was given an epidural anaesthetic, which did not numb her sufficiently.
Dr Hasil waited another couple of minutes for the anaesthetic to work and then became impatient to get the surgery under way, Mrs Turia said.
It was then that her niece allegedly had her uterus perforated by the surgical instrument.
"He put the instrument back through her uterus," Mrs Turia said.
She said her niece vocalised her pain and was told to "be quiet".
The next day Dr Hasil visited her and told her that her uterus had collapsed as it was "worn out" from having five children and that she would miscarry if she had any more.
"I'll take your uterus out for you, you'll be a new person," he told her.
After she left the hospital, the 34-year-old continued to have "excruciating" pain, which got steadily worse.
Two weeks later, she returned to the hospital's emergency clinic where she was given scans.
These showed a blood mass the size of a tennis ball just above her bowel. It had leaked out of the hole in her perforated uterus, Mrs Turia said.
Hospital doctors, who confirmed the perforation was caused by Dr Hasil's operation, then syringed out the blood mass laparoscopically.
The doctors also told her the woman her uterus was not collapsed and did not need to be removed.
She was angry about what had happened and news of Dr Hasil's failed sterilisations had made her think she should share her own experience.
"I was outraged ... I was stunned ... I don't think (Dr Hasil) should be allowed to practise," Mrs Turia said.
However, she said it was very difficult when the hospital was short of obstetricians and was having trouble getting them.
- NZPA
