The patient thought it would remove one side of the thyroid gland.
After the operation, the entire thyroid gland was removed.
Now the doctor has been reported to Ivo, writes Västerbottens-Kuriren.
It was during the fall of 2023 that a patient had received a referral to have a nodule on the right side of the thyroid gland removed at Norrland University Hospital, which Västerbottens-Kuriren was the first to tell about.
Well during the procedure it was discovered that it was a malignant growing tumor that had grown into the nerve area. The doctor then, in consultation with a colleague, decided to also remove the left lateral lobe of the thyroid gland.
The article in brief
Doctors removed both thyroid glands – without the patient’s consent.
The patient must now take medication for life.
The incident has been reported to Ivo and the hospital is being investigated.
The patient did not know
A sample was later taken which showed that there was no tumor growing on the left side of the thyroid, only the right.
The patient did not know that the entire thyroid gland was to be removed and the incident has therefore been reported to the Inspectorate for Care and Care, Ivo. In the report, the patient states that it has not given any consent to the procedure.
After the operation, the patient also needs to take medication for the rest of his life and believes that he was not informed about the risks of the procedure.
May not be done without consent
According to the Patient Act, healthcare may not be given without consent. You must also receive information about your state of health before an intervention, what risks there are for complications and side effects and also what kind of care you may need after.
In a statement to Ivo, the doctor agrees that the information given to the patient was insufficient. In IVO’s investigation, it appears that reception is planning measures regarding how to inform and obtain consent.
The lack of consent from the patient is a shortcoming according to Ivo and believes that it would have been reasonable for them to inform beforehand about the risks involved in the procedure. The case is now closed, but Ivo may follow up on measures taken by the hospital to improve its patient safety work.
