Common Misdiagnoses of Memometrorrhagia

Menometrorrhagia is the term used to define a medical condition characterized by unusual heavy uterine bleeding. The condition is further characterized by abnormal or irregular periods. Women who suffer from this medical condition experience very heavy bleeding while on their period and may have to change feminine napkins or tampons more often than normal. This can be as often as once every two hours.

Women who suffer from menometrorrhagia may also experience periods that last longer than the usual five to seven days and heavy spotting between periods is not uncommon either. A multitude of other medical conditions can be the potential cause of the development of menometrorrhagia, which is why it is absolutely necessary for women to seek the care of a gynecologist in order to determine the underlying problem that is causing the condition.

Proper Diagnostic Procedure

Because there are a number of causes of menometrorrhagia, a gynecologist must test for other underlying gynecological medical conditions to properly diagnose the main cause of the condition. Some of the tests that the gynecologists may perform include a pap smear and other general testing that you might receive at a regular gynecological check up. These tests will determine a diagnosis for the underlying condition that is causing the menometrorrhagia.

Misread, Delayed or Missed Diagnosis

Missed or delayed diagnosis could result from a doctor not recognizing your symptoms or from errors in pathology such as inaccurate readings from samples of cells taken during a pap smear. If this condition is left untreated for a period of time, this essentially means that you are leaving the underlying condition causing the problem left untreated as well. Since there are so many gynecological medical conditions that can cause menometrorrhagia to occur, the underlying condition might be cancer or a similar disease that is more severe than the actual underlying condition is. Testing to find out what this condition is and to get it treated is essential.

Consequences of Delayed Treatment and Misdiagnosis

If this condition is misdiagnosed and treatment is delayed, there are a number of problems that could occur. Due to the excessive loss of the blood, the biggest problem caused by menometrorrhagia itself  is becoming anemic. Further, because this condition is also caused by more severe underlying gynecological problems such as cancer, leaving the menometrorrhagia untreated means leaving the underlying problem untreated. In the case of cancer, this could mean death or the risk of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body when it could have been detected early and prevented.

Getting Legal Help

If your doctor was negligent in the diagnosis or treatment of menometrorrhagia, then you may have a case for medical malpractice. You should strongly consider speaking with a lawyer to find out what options you have for developing your malpractice claim.