The news that 33 women had their uterus removed due to incorrect diagnoses at Akademiska Hospital in Uppsala affects Malin Estving, who has her own misdiagnosis in fresh memory.
In August 2022, she had her uterus and ovaries removed at Skaraborg Hospital based on a single gynecologist's recommendation.
I can really understand these women, how it feels to lose an organ and later receive the message that it was unnecessary, she says.
Malin Estving had sought care for childbirth injuries for several years when she met a gynecologist at Skaraborg Hospital in the spring of 2020 who diagnosed her with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder.
In reality, I had muscle injuries that were not treated, but he claimed that both ovaries and uterus needed to be removed.
Enters menopause
The same message was given to several other women in Skaraborg, which has been highlighted in an investigation by Dagens Nyheter.
Did you receive sufficient information about the consequences of such an operation?
No more than that "it was necessary". It wasn't until afterwards that I understood that you can get problems in the future, such as different types of prolapse. The pelvic floor weakens when the support from the uterus disappears, and since I also had my ovaries removed, I need hormone treatment for many years to come, says Malin Estving.
Besides the fact that it is no longer possible to become pregnant for someone who has had their uterus removed, women who lose their ovaries enter menopause.
Now I was 37 years old, had three children, and had such severe pain that it wasn't relevant to have more children. But if my childbirth injuries had been treated correctly, things might have looked different, says Malin Estving.
Sought compensation
Last June, she sought compensation through patient insurance, but no decision has been made yet. Nor has she received any response to her notification to the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Ivo).
What can be to my advantage is that the hospital has made a lex Maria notification and that Ivo has deemed their conclusions reasonable. In my case, 16 misdiagnoses were found, so I hope the prospects are good, says Malin Estving.
Do you have any advice on how to move forward after such an event?
It will probably take time to digest the information and come to terms with what has actually happened, but then you need to work on acceptance and reconcile yourself with the situation, says Malin Estving.
