Suprise! I'm not pregnant! Or, Finding Out the Hard Way

[Tiassa]

The words "unnecessary surgery" are rarely applied in this context:

Two North Carolina doctors have been reprimanded for performing a caesarian on a woman, only to discover she wasn't pregnant at all.

The incident -- a rare case of pseudocyesis or a false or hysterical pregnancy -- happened at the Cape Fear Medical Center in Fayetteville, N.C.

The woman reportedly appeared at the hospital with her husband asking for a C-section. A resident in charge made the pregnancy diagnosis and doctors agreed to surgery after trying to induce labor for two days.

Neither doctor independently confirmed the pregnancy.

(Donaldson James)​

I mean, "Whoops," or, "Uh-oh," don't really begin to cover it.

The surgery occurred in 2008; recently, the North Carolina Meidcal Board issued letters of concern, the state's lowest level of disciplinary action, to two doctors at the Fayetteville hospital.

Right now I'm trying to fathom just what is involved in spending two days trying to induce labor and then cutting open a patient without independently verifying the pregnancy. Can nobody at Cape Fear say, "Ultrasound"?

I'm sure I can imagine, if I tried, circumstances that would make this seem more comical than grave, but two freakin' days they tried to evict a tenant that was never there. And then they started cutting. How, exactly, does this sort of thing happen?
____________________

Notes:

Donaldson James, Susan. "Doctors Perform C-Section and Find No Baby". ABC News. April 2, 2010. ABCNews.Go.com. April 6, 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Reprod...r-section-doctors-find-baby/story?id=10262881

 

[Spud Emperor]

"Hmmmm! Doctor we may have to abort this mission, no sign of life around here."

 

[Mrs.Lucysnow]

Didn't anyone bother to give her a pregnancy test before they attempted a caesarian? I mean even her blood work would have indicated whether she was pregnant or not.

 

[S.A.M.]

How did she escape an ultrasound?

 

[Bells]

How did they not do a blood test, urine test or listen to the baby's heartbeat before cutting into her?:bugeye:

 

[Asguard]

How did they not do a blood test, urine test or listen to the baby's heartbeat before cutting into her?:bugeye:

Depends, this IS quite rare and if she came in saying she was pregant and in distress? Its possable they DID lission for a heart beat and combine with the lack of progress of labor belived the fetus was dead.

Yes pts lie but for the most part health care proffessionals belive them

 

[Asguard]

BTW, i dont belive a blood test will actually tell you conclusivily if a pregancy is a phantom pregancy. The same hormonal changes which occure during a real pregancy can be mimiced in a phantom one

 

[Kennyc]

And the deniers wonder why we need national health care?

 

[Asguard]

HA, i was right

... It is generally estimated that false pregnancy is caused due to changes in the endocrine system of the body, leading to the secretion of hormones which translate into physical changes similar to those during pregnancy. The underlying cause is often mental.[1]...

...Signs and symptoms
The symptoms of pseudocyesis are similar to the symptoms of true pregnancy and are often hard to distinguish from it. Such natural signs as amenorrhoea, morning sickness, tender breasts, and weight gain may all be present. Many health care professionals can be deceived by the symptoms associated with pseudocyesis. Research shows that 18% of women with pseudocyesis were at one time diagnosed as pregnant by medical professionals.

The hallmark sign of pseudocyesis that is common to all cases is that the affected patient is convinced that she is pregnant. Abdominal distension is the most common physical symptom of pseudocyesis (60–90%). The abdomen expands in the same manner as it does during pregnancy, so that the affected woman looks pregnant. These symptoms often resolve under general anesthesia and the woman's abdomen returns to its normal size.

The second most common physical sign of pseudocyesis is menstrual irregularity (50–90%). Women are also reported to experience the sensation of fetal movements known as quickening, even though there is no fetus present (50–75%). Other common signs and symptoms include gastrointestinal symptoms, breast changes or secretions, labor pains, uterine enlargement, and softening of the cervix. One percent of women eventually experience false labor.

To be diagnosed as true pseudocyesis, the woman must actually believe that she is pregnant. When a woman intentionally and consciously feigns pregnancy, it is termed a simulated pregnancy.

Symptoms of pseudocyesis can also occur in men who have couvade syndrome.
...

...Testing
Any type of pregnancy test works by detecting a certain hormone in the urine or blood that is only there when a woman is pregnant.[3] The pregnancy hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is made when an egg that is fertilized with sperm implants in the uterus (or in the case of an ectopic pregnancy elsewhere in the body, such as the fallopian tube or abdominal cavity) approximately six days after human fertilization occurs. During a normal pregnancy, the hCG level doubles approximately every 2 to 3 days, reaching a peak at about 8 weeks following conception. Both urine and blood tests may detect this particular hormone and confirm pregnancy as early as six to eight days after conception.

[edit] Prevention
There is no sure way to prevent the body from taking on the physical and mental changes of pseudocyesis. If pregnancy symptoms develop, it is best to receive confirmed results from a physician. Although blood and urine tests can provide a false positive, a physician's diagnosis is more accurate than a home pregnancy test.
...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_pregnancy

Unfortunatly there is one mestake in this file. The home tests are now EXACTLY the same as the ones done in hospitals now (Acording to the nurse giving us the lecture on diognostic testing)