Woman told pierced lung lacks ACC rarity value

By MARTIN JOHNSTON

An Auckland woman has been refused accident compensation after her lung was punctured during a needle test for breast cancer.

ACC told Cara Torrance that while she did suffer a complication, it was not rare enough and the effects not severe enough for it to be accepted as medical mishap.

But her GP, Dr Alison Copland, and a breast surgeon dispute ACC's position on the rarity of the complication.

The 28-year-old Western Springs book editor and mother of one had the breast biopsy on April 10 to take a sample from a lump, which proved not to be cancerous.

She felt unwell and went to her doctor two days later - and was sent straight back to Auckland Hospital with a collapsed right lung.

Ms Torrance stayed a week in hospital while the leaked air was sucked out of her chest cavity to allow the lung hole to heal, but she was unable to return to work until May 1.

She still suffers pain in her breast.

Ms Torrance is angry about the rebuff from ACC and will seek a review. She has also complained to the hospital.

"It's disgusting. People get paid from ACC for hurting themselves at sport but if you get stabbed in the lung you get nothing," she said.

She received no sick pay as she had just started work with a new employer and her entitlement did not begin until three months into the job.

Ms Torrance also said hospital staff did not tell her of the risk of a punctured lung. Had she known, she would have sought help more quickly.

For ACC to accept medical mishap, the procedure must occur in fewer than one in 100 cases.

A breast surgeon who declined to be named said yesterday that at worst, a punctured lung occurred in about one in every 1100 breast biopsies.

It was virtually non-existent when the needle was guided using ultrasound or x-ray.

But Dr Belinda Scott, an Auckland breast surgeon, said the maximum risk was one in 200, although she thought it would still be hard to get compensation.

She did not usually tell women of the risk because it was low and being advised of it might put women off having a biopsy, an important test for breast cancer.

However, she did tell women who were at higher risk through being slim, or where a sample would be taken from the upper, outer part of the breast or from the back of the breast.

Auckland Hospital spokeswoman Brenda Saunders said she could only make general comments because the hospital was about to reply to Ms Torrance's complaint.

"We generally inform patients of common complications and uncommon but significant complications and we give general advice about seeking medical help in the event of anything that the patient is concerned about or unexpected post-operatively."