O.K., this is a complicated medical situation. When the average obstetrician is confronted with a patient presenting with this condition it would seem extremely reasonable to bring in a specialist to get advanced expertise. A hydatidiform mole is usually an abnormal, fertilized egg, but it can also be a situation involving overgrowth of tissue from the placenta. When an abnormal, fertilized egg develops into a hydratidiform mole rather than a fetus the condition is called a molar pregnancy. The dicey part of this horrifying situation is that sometimes a mole pregnancy can, rarely, but can, develop into a fetus that is normal. A mole can even develop and grow out of cells remaining from a miscarriage. And some moles can be cancerous, choriocarcinomas, and invade surrounding uterine tissues to access the lymphatic system and blood stream.
Diagnosing Molar Pregnancy
It would be fairly difficult for an average obstetrician to diagnose and handle a molar pregnancy. When the condition can lead to cancer it would be important to have requested the assistance of a specialist. A gynecologist or obstetrician could have diagnosed a molar pregnancy or failed to diagnose a molar pregnancy and both instance would potential involve significant health risks both for the woman and the fetus if it does live. A physician would be professional negligent in managing this type of medical condition if he did not order sufficient diagnostic testing to determine if the molar early fetus was normal or abnormal and if the surrounding fetal tissue was malignant. The doctor and the patient would then be faced with managing one or more possible medical resolutions of the molar pregnancy. This health situation could be devastating emotionally for the women and she should be offered appropriate emotional and psychological support. Frightening present and future health risks involving cancer should be addressed with the gynecologist ordering a consultation with an oncologist to either prevent or address the risk of a related cancer.
Getting Legal Help
If you or a member of your family has been diagnosed with a molar pregnancy or misdiagnosed as having a molar pregnancy it may be helpful to contact a medical malpractice lawyer concerning the situation. An attorney can provide valuable guidance on the injured patient’s legal rights. He can isolate the most effective manner of collecting medical records to document the molar pregnancy diagnosis or failure to diagnose the condition to provide the basis of a potential malpractice action.
