Undiagnosed 3rd Degree Tear
Aliza's third degree tear was missed by the midwife, causing her to develop faecal incontinence.
When Aliza gave birth to her son by normal vaginal delivery, he was delivered by a student midwife with a registered midwife in attendance.
Afterwards Aliza was told that she had sustained a first degree tear. The midwife said that a repair was not necessary, as the tear would heal on its own. Neither a vaginal nor a rectal examination was performed after the delivery. She was discharged home the following day.
Four weeks later, Aliza began to experience some incontinence. She found she had to rush to the toilet to empty her bowels, and she could not control the passing of wind. She did not say anything during her six-week check-up, as initially she did not attach any particular significance to her symptoms.
However, she did mention the problem some weeks later during another routine medical appointment. Aliza was examined by a nurse and then a GP. This was the first time she had been examined since giving birth to her son. The clinicians decided to wait to see how her condition progressed.
When Aliza's incontinence did not improve, she was referred back to the gynaecology department where she was advised that she had no perineum between her vagina and rectum. Aliza had no muscle tone in her anus so was then referred to the colorectal department. The surgeon confirmed that she had a missed third degree tear.
Because the injury was not diagnosed and repaired immediately, Aliza will continue to suffer incontinence for the rest of her life. She has had to adapt to this, and now everything she does revolves around her bowel movements. She avoids things that will make her symptoms worse, such as certain foods, drinks and walking. She wears baggy clothes and tries to remain close to a toilet.
She has returned to her job but again this is very hard as she often requires the toilet urgently. She cannot control the passing of wind which can be very embarrassing at work and in social situations. It is very likely she will need a stoma in the future.
This terrible outcome could have been avoided, had Aliza's third degree tear been diagnosed and repaired shortly after the birth. We helped her make a claim against the negligent hospital. She was awarded over £200,000 in compensation.
(Details which might identify our client have been changed.)
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