Indictment over misdiagnosis: patient had stomach removed at Zagreb University Hospital
A pathologist from Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital has been indicted for negligent treatment after a patient was incorrectly diagnosed with cancer, resulting in the removal of her stomach and several other organs.
Wrongly diagnosed cancer: prosecution seeks one year in prison for pathologist
The Municipal Criminal State Attorney's Office in Zagreb has filed an indictment against a pathologist employed at Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital on suspicion of negligent treatment, according to Večernji list. A patient had her entire stomach and several other organs removed based on a misdiagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma. The prosecution is seeking a one-year prison sentence for the doctor.
According to the indictment, the pathologist analysed a tissue sample taken by biopsy from the stomach lining in November 2023 and diagnosed the patient with gastric adenocarcinoma. The prosecution contends that all necessary tests were not carried out to confirm whether it was genuinely a carcinoma or another type of tumour. Based on that finding, the patient was recommended an extensive surgery, which was performed on 21 November 2023 at Zagreb University Hospital. Surgeons removed the entire stomach, lymph nodes, peritoneum, caecum and gallbladder.
Completely different diagnosis established afterwards
Only after the surgery was completed, through analysis of the removed tissue, did doctors determine that the patient did not suffer from adenocarcinoma but from a small neuroendocrine tumour grade 2 (NET G2). Forensic medical experts stated that such a tumour in this particular case did not require the extensive surgical intervention that the patient underwent.
The consequences of the surgery seriously impaired the patient's health and everyday life. According to medical records, she suffers from nausea and vomiting after meals, diarrhoea, reflux and early and late dumping syndrome — disorders characteristic of a post-gastrectomy state. Significant weight loss, malnutrition and psychological complaints, including post-traumatic stress disorder, were also documented.
Surgeon could not clearly feel the tumour during the procedure
Forensic medical assessment by the Medical Faculty in Split established professional negligence in making the diagnosis. The expert witnesses concluded that certain circumstances could have pointed to adenocarcinoma, but that additional immunohistochemical analyses, which were not carried out, were necessary to reliably distinguish the type of tumour.
The surgeon who performed the operation stated that he could not clearly feel the tumour during the procedure, but nonetheless continued with the surgery relying on the previous pathology report which indicated carcinoma.
Indicted doctor denies negligence
The indicted pathologist argues otherwise: she conducted additional testing on the sample, but the results had not been completed at the time of surgery. She also stated that she had warned of the need for additional steps and consultations before the surgical procedure. In her defence, she emphasised that it cannot be safely concluded on the basis of a small biopsy sample alone that cancer did not exist.
The State Attorney's Office believes the doctor acted contrary to the rules of medical practice as she did not apply all diagnostic methods that would have confirmed the diagnosis and excluded other possibilities. The court is called upon to find her guilty of negligent treatment and impose a one-year prison sentence. The charges are yet to be examined in court proceedings, and the doctor is presumed innocent until a final conviction.
Source: Večernji list