Having any kind of surgery can be daunting, but discovering that she was scheduled for the incorrect procedure just two days beforehand made matters much worse for Annora Odjighoro.
After being diagnosed with fibroids in 2023, the 29-year-old was due to have a laparoscopic myomectomy in October to have them removed. But in the days prior to her operation, she wanted to double check her files using the online patient portal, and she was left reeling by what she saw.
Odjighoro, who declined to disclose her doctor’s information to Newsweek, noticed that she was scheduled for a hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, which is the removal of the womb, cervix, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. Seeing this before the surgery left Odjighoro, from the U.S. horrified, as she told Newsweek that she felt “incredibly anxious about moving forward.” She didn’t hesitate to call up the doctor’s office and rectify the situation straight away.
“I was mortified, shocked and scared when I saw it. My surgery was just two days away, and to see an error like this on my chart definitely impacted my confidence. I called my doctor’s office and was directed to the office assistant who handled the scheduling,” Odjighoro said.
“She was immediately apologetic when she heard about the error. I asked her to send me a copy of my consent form, which clearly stated I was to have a myomectomy surgery and asked her to change the information on the system, which she did in a matter of minutes.”
Staff at the doctor’s office apologized profusely for the mistake, which they told Odjighoro was “a computer-generated error.”
How Do the Surgeries Differ?
Fibroids are non-cancerous growths of tissue which can form in the uterus, and while they don’t always lead to symptoms, they can sometimes cause heavy menstrual bleeding, back pain, frequent urination, or pain during intercourse, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
They don’t always need to be removed, but surgery is possible for larger fibroids which are causing problems. A laparoscopic myomectomy involves placing small incisions in the abdomen and using a scope to remove the fibroids.
This surgery leaves the uterus in place and doesn’t affect fertility. However, women who undergo a hysterectomy can no longer become pregnant and will stop menstruating (and in some instances they will go into menopause). A hysterectomy is a major surgery with a lengthy recovery time, which the Cleveland Clinic estimates to take around four to six weeks.
Fortunately for Odjighoro, she discovered the error before going under the knife, but she was left wondering how different her future could have looked if that wasn’t the case.
She said: “My doctor and his surgery team did an excellent job with my myomectomy procedure. I had no problem with the surgery and have had a remarkable recovery, but it scares me to think what my life could have been had that error occurred.”
How Did Social Media React?
After reflecting on the error and recovering from the surgery, Odjighoro shared a video on TikTok (@tanyjiggs) in February to explain how her doctor’s office “made a mistake,” and what could have been. Alongside the clip, she added that she’s confident that her “doctor would have caught the error” and not performed the hysterectomy, but she certainly wasn’t going to leave it up to chance.
She encouraged other patients to “check, check, and double check your charts” to be safe. The video has been viewed more than 567,600 times and gained over 32,600 likes on TikTok, and she’s been amazed by the response.
“After sharing my story, I’ve gotten responses from women telling their stories of medical errors and the impact it had on their lives. I’m grateful that was not my story, and I am also sad to know there are people who cannot say the same,” Odjighoro continued.
“Many people have expressed their relief at how my story unfolded and their shock at the level of trauma it could have caused. Overall, there’s a consensus that there needs to be more stringent measures put in place to eradicate these types of medical errors.”
Among the 600 comments on the viral post, many people praised Odjighoro for speaking out and offering such a stark warning. One comment reads: “And this is why we ask the patient to confirm what procedure they’re in for on the operating table.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “Nah I would’ve cancelled the whole surgery all together and found another clinic to do it.”
While another person responded: “I was having a hysterectomy and I saw in my my chart that they were removing my ovaries. I called so fast like no we are keeping those I am 33 lol. I am not going into menopause.”
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Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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