The Biopsy Said Cancer. The Pathology Slides Belonged to Someone Else.
A Philadelphia woman lost her uterus because of contaminated lab slides. Her doctor had evidence she didn’t have cancer. He operated anyway.
In March 2021, IS woke up from surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania without her uterus, ovaries, or fallopian tubes. She was 45 years old.
A few weeks later, a nurse came to deliver news from her surgeon: the pathology report on her removed organs showed no cancer. None. The “aggressive endometrial cancer” that had justified removing her reproductive system had never existed.
S. had undergone a total hysterectomy for a disease she never had. The cancer cells on her original biopsy slides belonged to someone else entirely.
Last month, a Philadelphia jury awarded her $35 million.
Two Biopsies. Two Answers. One Surgery.
The chain of errors began in February 2021. S, had a biopsy that came back showing grade 2-3 endometrial cancer. The diagnosis was alarming. This is an aggressive cancer that typically requires prompt surgical treatment.
S. did what any reasonable patient would do: she sought a second opinion. She went to Penn Medicine, one of the most prestigious academic medical centers in the country, and saw Dr. Janos Tanyi, a gynecologic oncologist.
Tanyi ordered a repeat biopsy. It came back negative for cancer.
He also ordered additional tests. They were all negative.
What happened next is why a jury found Penn Medicine liable for $12.25 million.
According to court documents, Tanyi did not share the negative test results with S. Instead, he told her that the Main Line biopsy was correct and that “immediate surgery was her only real option.” He performed a total hysterectomy on March 8, 2021.
The pathology lab at Penn examined the removed tissue. No cancer.
Seven months later, Main Line Health finally confirmed to S. what had gone wrong: DNA testing revealed that her original biopsy slides had been contaminated with tissue from another patient. The cancer was real. It just wasn’t hers.
Free Subscriber Bottom Line: Lab errors are uncommon but devastating. When biopsies conflict, someone needs to ask why before proceeding to surgery. In this case, one biopsy said cancer, another said no cancer, and the surgeon proceeded to operate without resolving the discrepancy. The patient paid with her uterus.
Below, paid subscribers get:
The standard of care for conflicting biopsy results
Why 35% of labs have NO policy requiring second opinions for cancer diagnoses
The informed consent failure that cost Penn $12 million
What clinicians should do when test results don’t match
A downloadable checklist for patients facing a cancer diagnosis: Protecting Yourself After A Cancer Diagnosis
The malpractice implications for your practice
