PIC: ‘Sterilisation left me with big bulge’
POSITIVE: Patient is pregnant. Picture supplied
A woman was not only left pregnant, but also with an unsightly bulge over her vagina, following a botched sterilisation at Tygerberg Hospital.
Bianca Barends had her third baby via C-section on 25 September last year at the facility and opted for sterilisation.
“It was not a small cut, in fact the cut over my pubic area was skew and cut into an inguinal nerve,” she explains.
“This careless work of health professionals left me with severe pain and a huge bulge on top of my vagina. And three weeks ago I found out I’m pregnant again.”
The mom says when she went to book this pregnancy at Tygerberg Hospital, they refused to assist her.
“Whenever I email them, I receive automatic responses, stating Ernest Tiervlei is on leave.
“I went to private doctors but once they examined me, they referred me back to where the sterilisation was done.”
Bianca says in March she had to give up her job due to the pain.
“My husband and I had to borrow money for me to get medical assistance but till today I haven’t been helped,” says the frustrated woman.
She says she has no idea what the bulge is: “I just want this thing out before it bursts or gets infected. “I want to be back at work so I can help my husband provide for our family.
“I want to feel like a healthy normal person again.”
The Western Cape Government Health’s Byron La Hoe says: “Tygerberg Hospital is bound by a patient-doctor agreement, and it can confirm that its Obstetrics and Gynaecology Services have made contact with the patient to discuss the next steps, such as consultation or treatment.”