7 replies to this topic

[Misskika007]

Hello, not sure if this forum is active but will give it a shot!

When we first decided to seek help for infertility, we were referred to clinic A. Clinic A performed numerous diagnostic tests on us and determined I have DOR (still true) but also that I had blocked tubes due to, in the words of the doctor a case of chlamydia you might not have known about (seriously!?!?! I think I would have know if I had had chlyamydia!) and immediately referred us to IVF. We have medical records that indicate this was the diagnosis.

We were not happy with Clinic A for numerous reasons that I wont get into here, so decided to pursue IVF (what we thought was our only option) at Clinic B. The doctor at Clinic B, upon reviewing the recent diagnostics from Clinic A, also recommended IVF as our only option due to blocked tubes. We did two rounds of IVF at Clinic B resulting in two embryos to be transferred. Prior to embryo transfer at Clinic B, the doctor performed another sonohysterogram and stated I did not have blocked tubes after all. The two transfers were ultimately not successful and we changed to Clinic C. Clinic C has been fantastic and also redid the sonohysterogram to confirm tubes were not blocked. Tubes are not blocked and we were given options to pursue a much less expensive IUI or continue with IVF.

That being said, things may have been different for us if Clinic A gave a correct diagnosis at the get go and Clinic B followed up with repeat diagnostics before beginning IVF. My AMH has decreased by more than half during the time of initial tests at Clinic A and recent tests at Clinic C.

A friend of ours recently encouraged us to seek legal advice to see if there is any recourse against Clinic A. Would be keen to understand what our rights are in this situation, if any.

[Cotton2]

I am not an expert but a doctor told me it is hard to sue doctors in Canada. 

 

Have you got your hands on the incorrect sonohysterogram from clinic A? Did the doctor do the test or a tech? If a tech did it and screwed it up that's not really the doctor's fault. 

[Misskika007]

Thanks for your reply Cotton. I do have the sono record and it was performed by and signed off by a doctor. Wondering if it is more trouble than its worth to go down this road.

[returnable]

I think the most you would get is the cost of your IVF, but then how much would you have to pay the lawyer. One other consideration is that sometimes in the sono, your tubes can spasm and appear blocked as they cannot get the saline through. This happened to me and on a subsequent sono it was found that they were fine. However with our other issues a natural pregnancy would not have happened anyway. The doctor, is sued, may theorize that this also happened and it could be the case.

[jtstan]

I think you could possibly have some recourse if it were the other way around and you were told your tubes were open and went through a series of IUIs that would have no possibility of success and wasted valuable time with a declining AMH where IVF would be the best option, and only option for success. But regardless, whether your tubes were open or not, with DOR IVF gives by far the highest chances of success vs IUI...IUI statistically only gives a marginally better chance for conceiving when compared to trying naturally. So if you had been trying on your own for the required amount prior to be seen by the fertility clinic and did have open tubes...IUI really wouldn’t have been the best option for you anyways as THAT can be seen as wasting valuable time. The fact that it didn’t work for you is unfortunate but was still most probably the right move. And as returnable said...tubes can spasm and appear blocked so maybe that happened as well.

[mouse]

I'm sorry this happened to you, it's frustrating and upsetting to say the least!  I don't know how much luck you'd have in pursuing this though.  It's fairly common (about 15%) to get a false positive for blocked tubes. And even when a blockage is correctly diagnosed, apparently there can be some change in the level of blockage over time too.  I've had sonos/HSGs indicate 1 open tube, 2 partial blockages, 2 complete blockages and 1 open tube again.  When I questioned the variation I found that spasms, swelling, fluid, the build up/break down of scar tissue and possibly even endometriosis in the tube can cause these different scan results. Fingers crossed for you!

[Misskika007]

Thank you all for the feedback- my gut was this wasn't something worth pursuing but a friend convinced me to look into it. Glad I brought this up on the forum before spending $ on a lawyer he he In good news, we go have a genetically normal embryo to transfer now, so things are looking up. Wishing you ladies success on your journeys!

[Jerbitts]

I hope the patient is super okay after using this.