33 women had their uterus removed unnecessarily

Published 24 October 2024 at 09.41

Domestic. The academic hospital in Uppsala admits that 33 women have wrongly had their uteruses removed during 2023 and until April 2024. Expressen reports.

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The women, who are between the ages of 38 and 85, were diagnosed with endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN), a precursor to uterine cancer, which led to them undergoing operations that later turned out to be unnecessary.

An internal review by the hospital began in April 2024, following an inexplicable increase in the number of EIN diagnoses, revealed that 33 of just under 100 assessments were incorrect.

The diagnoses had been made by a team of pathologists, and the hospital had three independent experts review the tissue samples, which confirmed the mistakes. The review was completed in September.

– It is with our deep regret and our clear apology to these women, says chief physician Johan Lugnegård to Expressen.

The affected women were recently informed and have been offered return visits and information about the possibility of financial compensation via patient insurance. The academic hospital has also prepared a Lex Maria notification and measures to prevent similar errors from being repeated in the future.

Barbro Sjölander, president of the patient association Nätverket för gynecological cancer, expresses her dismay at the situation:

– I am surprised and clearly sad. It's terrible. This kind of thing must not happen, she tells Expressen.

Health Minister Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD) also comments on the incident and calls it “terrible news” that means “great suffering” for the affected women.

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“It is good that the University Hospital takes the incident seriously and takes the necessary measures to both get to the bottom of what happened, and ensure that it does not happen again,” says the minister in a comment to Expressen.

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