Latest news with #BacchusMarsh
News.com.au
13-05-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Shouldn't have happened': Victorian mum's fallopian tubes removed during surgery
A Melbourne mum has taken legal action against a healthcare provider after waking from an emergency surgery to learn her fallopian tubes had been removed. In early 2022, Liz Darwish was 10 weeks pregnant with her and husband Mouhamad's fourth baby when she noticed she was bleeding. Doctors at Bacchus Marsh Hospital confirmed Ms Darwish had suffered a miscarriage. Five weeks later, however, she was rushed to Sunshine Hospital in St Albans, having collapsed while getting out of the shower due to a sudden drop in her blood pressure. Recounting the incident to 9 News, Ms Darwish said she was asked by staff at Sunshine Hospital if she was pregnant. 'I said no, I wasn't pregnant, I had a clean-out five to six weeks prior in Bacchus Marsh Hospital so there was no chance I was pregnant,' she told the program, referring to the D&C (dilatation and curettage) procedure that removes any remaining pregnancy tissue after miscarriage. The doctors then discovered that Ms Darwish was actually still pregnant, and that Bacchus Marsh had missed an ectopic pregnancy – when the fertilised egg stays inside the fallopian tube – that had then ruptured. 'I was bleeding internally and I just thought, 'I'm not going to make it, I'm not going to make it home',' Ms Darwish said. 'I just didn't think I would be able to see my kids again and I thought my daughter's going to grow up without her mum.' The fact that it was an ectopic pregnancy was something Ms Darwish said doctors did not convey to her. Instead, thinking she was dying, Ms Darwish told them to do whatever was necessary to keep her alive before they took her into surgery. When she woke up, she was informed both of her fallopian tubes had been removed – which Ms Darwish's lawyer, Maryse Andrinopoulos-Tsigolis, told 9News was 'not usual practice … when the ectopic pregnancy has only ruptured in one'. 'With appropriate care, Liz would not have lost either fallopian tube,' Ms Andrinopoulos-Tsigolis, from Shine Lawyers, said. 'This shouldn't have happened, it has had devastating consequences for Liz and is something that could've been solved through a simple laparoscopy.' Three years on, Ms Darwish said healthcare provider Western Health had still not given an explanation as to why the Sunshine Hospital doctors removed the organ. She and her husband are now pursuing legal action. In a statement provided to a spokesperson for Western Health said it is 'committed to providing patient-centred, high-quality care and safety and wellbeing of our patients is our top priority'. 'For privacy reasons we will not comment on individual patients in response to media inquiries.' The Darwish's said the hospital's actions had robbed them of growing their family. 'That choice and that decision was taken away and that's what's hard,' Ms Darwish said. 'Take accountability and fix what you've done. Fix it so it doesn't happen to anyone else.'
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Melbourne mum wakes up in hospital with no fallopian tubes after two horror medical blunders
A mother who dreamed of having a large family was left with both her fallopian tubes removed after a hospital mistook her ectopic pregnancy for a miscarriage. Melbourne couple Liz and Mouhamad Darwish were thrilled when they found out they were expecting their fourth child in early 2022. Sadly, 10 weeks into the pregnancy, she began experiencing abnormal bleeding. The couple rushed to Bacchus Marsh Hospital, in the city's west, where they were told Ms Darwish had suffered a miscarriage. 'This is life and this is how it is and we have to be thankful for our blessing and sometimes things are out of our hand,' she told Nine News on Monday. While still coming to terms with the loss, Ms Darwish's health took a turn for the worst five weeks later. She recalled getting out of the shower and suddenly losing consciousness. Ms Darwish believes she fainted up to five times before her sons found her lying on the bathroom floor. The mother was rushed to Sunshine Hospital, also in Melbourne's west, where doctors asked if she was pregnant. 'I said no, I wasn't pregnant, I had a cleanout five to six weeks prior in Bacchus Marsh Hospital so there was no chance I was pregnant,' Ms Darwish said. However, it turned out she was still pregnant. The doctors at Bacchus Marsh five weeks earlier had missed an ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tube, which had ruptured. Mr Darwish recalled facing the 'horrific' possibility he may become widower as his wife bled internally. Not understanding what was happening, Ms Darwish told doctors to do whatever it took to save her life. 'I just thought, 'I'm not going to make it, I'm not going to make it home',' she said. 'I just didn't think I would be able to see my kids again and I thought my daughter's going to grow up without her mum.' When she woke from surgery, both her fallopian tubes had been removed. Typically, only the affected fallopian tube would be removed in the case of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Three years on, Ms Darwish claims the staff at both hospitals 'got it wrong every step of the way'. The mother-of-three is also yet to receive an explanation as to why both fallopian tubes were removed. Ms Darwish is now taking legal action against Western Health, the owner of both Bacchus Marsh and Sunshine hospitals. She has opened up about the ordeal in the hope it doesn't happen to any other expectant mum. Maryse Andrinopoulos-Tsigolis from Shine Lawyers believes her client would not have lost either fallopian tube had she received appropriate care. 'This shouldn't have happened, it has had devastating consequences for Liz and is something that could've been solved through a simple laparoscopy,' Ms Andrinopoulos-Tsigolis said. The hardest part is the significant struggles the couple would face if they want to extend their family. 'That choice and that decision was taken away and that's what's hard,' Ms Darwish said. 'Take accountability and fix what you've done. Fix it so it doesn't happen to anyone else.' A spokesperson said that Western Health was 'committed to providing patient-centred, high-quality care and the safety and wellbeing of our patients is our top priority' but wouldn't comment on the individual matter, citing privacy reasons.
