CASE AT A GLANCE
Laparoscopic Appendectomy / Bowel Perforation

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Case Overview:

A 43-year-old woman had a long history of urinary tract infections. As a child, she had surgery to reimplant her ureters. She went to see her physician to discuss symptoms of another UTI. The tests returned negative for a UTI, but the physician believed that she might have flushed out the bacteria because of the amount of fluids she was drinking. After a course of antibiotics, she started to feel better, as she had in the past. She did continue to have some vaginal itching and uncomfortable feeling in her pelvis. She had an ultrasound, and she did have complex cysts on her right ovary that she was aware of from past ultrasounds. She said she was feeling better from the week before and was told to follow up with another ultrasound in 8-10 weeks. A few months later, she woke up in severe pain on her right side and lower back. She had an ultrasound, and there looked to be an obstruction of her ureter and a cancerous tumor on the right side of her bladder. Unfortunately, she passed away. The jury found in favor of the defense.