Sarah, a 34 yr old lady, has been admitted to your unit for a procedure, under general anaesthetic , to replace a faulty breast implant.
During the pre-op period, the sugeon visited Sarah to examine her and obtain consent for the replacement of the implant. During the examnation, the surgeon could clearly feel lumps under the the axillary area ( armpit) , but did not say anything at this time, although it was documented in the clinical notes. The surgeon also did not mention these lumps to the attending Nurse chaperoning during the examination.
During the operation, the surgeon decided to look a little closer at these palapble lumps and went on to surgically remove them and send them to the lab.
Sarah was infomed after the procedure and was sent for at an outpatients appointment, to enable the surgeon to inform her that she had a diagnosis of breast cancer, which was confirmed by pathology on the removed lumps. Sarah was devastated by this news and became angry and upset that the surgeon had removed these lumps without prior consent from her.
It is proposed that Sarah should sue the surgeon for negligence leading to trespass