man loses manhood over medical negligence
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simon76 (imported)
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Re: man loses manhood over medical negligence
Administrator's Note:
I respect the intellectual property of newspapers and encourage our readers to follow the link posted above so that the newspaper can generate any ad revenues associated with this posting.
I have copied the text below because newspaper sites are notoriously bad about not keeping articles available for very long.
When posting links and commentary about stories on sites like these I would encourage readers to post both the link to the original site and the text of the story.
Having a link and discussion around an article that is inaccessable in a week because the paper has taken it offline doesn't make much sense for our board.
B
Wichita County man sues clinic, doctors after sex organ removed
Associated Press
RESOURCESAmerican Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org (http://www.cancer.org/)Texas State Board of Medical Examiners: http://www.tsbme.state.tx.us (http://www.tsbme.state.tx.us/)
WICHITA FALLS -- A mechanic is suing a clinic and two doctors, claiming they removed his penis and testicles without consulting him after they mistakenly thought he had cancer. Hurshell Ralls, 67, seeks an unspecified amount in his negligence lawsuit filed against the Clinics of North Texas in Wichita Falls, Dr. John Stephen Dryden and Dr. Farid G. Khoury. The civil case is set for trial Aug. 25. Ralls, who said he had a normal sex life with his wife before the 1999 amputation, said he remains angry with his doctors. "I don't think they should have played God, myself," Ralls said Wednesday. "I'd love to have had a second opinion." The clinic and doctors declined to comment. Ralls said Dryden started treating him 15 years ago for kidney infections caused by lifelong bladder problems. Since he was in his mid-20s, Ralls said, he has urinated into a bag through a catheter attached to his ureters, the tubes carrying urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Ralls said he went in for surgery in November 1999 after Dryden said a biopsy showed he had bladder cancer. Dryden and Khoury, who assisted in the surgery, never mentioned that the cancer could be spreading and that they might have to remove other organs, Ralls said. In a February deposition, Dryden told Ralls' attorneys that while removing Ralls' bladder, he determined the cancer had spread to the penis. "I was the one looking at it, and I've seen it. I mean, it was cancer," Dryden testified. He said he did not take tissue samples to test for cancer because "I did not feel, in my medical judgment, that they were worthwhile." Ralls' attorney Steve Briley said such tests could have been done in 30 minutes in the same clinic. Briley said a Dallas doctor looking at cell slides later found that Ralls did not have penile cancer. Ralls and his wife of 35 years, Thelma, contend that even if he had penile cancer, it did not require immediate action. The couple said the doctors should have stopped operating, done a biopsy on penile tissue and discussed treatment options with them. He has not had reconstructive surgery because there is not enough tissue to do it, Briley said. The couple said they don't care how much money they might receive from the lawsuit but want to send a message that doctors should consult with patients before doing such a life-altering procedure. "They took a part of his life. It has affected him, affected me and affected our whole family," Thelma Ralls said. Neither Dryden nor Khoury have been disciplined or had license interruptions, according to the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. Complaints or investigations that don't result in disciplinary actions, however, are not made public, board spokeswoman Jane McFarland said. Ralls did not file a complaint with the state board because of his pending lawsuit, Briley said. Penile cancer is rare in America because most men are circumcised, and those who contract it are usually over the age of 60, according to the American Cancer Society. Penile cancer occurs in about one in 100,000 men in the United States, the group says. Dr. Bruce Blank, a Portland, Ore., urologist who has no connection to the Texas case, said cancer of the outer layers of the penis is different than cancer of the urethra, which is more common in men who have had other surgeries and scarring in that area. He said options include chemotherapy, radiation or removing part of the penis, depending on what the doctor and patient feel would be most effective. But treatment is based on whether the cancer is in the penis or urethra and how advanced and aggressive the disease is, said Blank, a member of the American Cancer Society National Assembly and the organization's Prostate Cancer Task Force. "As shocking as it may sound, (amputation) is a reasonable option for a patient who has an aggressive penile cancer," Blank said. "Removing the penis or part of the penis can be truly lifesaving."
I respect the intellectual property of newspapers and encourage our readers to follow the link posted above so that the newspaper can generate any ad revenues associated with this posting.
I have copied the text below because newspaper sites are notoriously bad about not keeping articles available for very long.
When posting links and commentary about stories on sites like these I would encourage readers to post both the link to the original site and the text of the story.
Having a link and discussion around an article that is inaccessable in a week because the paper has taken it offline doesn't make much sense for our board.
B
Wichita County man sues clinic, doctors after sex organ removed
Associated Press
RESOURCESAmerican Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org (http://www.cancer.org/)Texas State Board of Medical Examiners: http://www.tsbme.state.tx.us (http://www.tsbme.state.tx.us/)
WICHITA FALLS -- A mechanic is suing a clinic and two doctors, claiming they removed his penis and testicles without consulting him after they mistakenly thought he had cancer. Hurshell Ralls, 67, seeks an unspecified amount in his negligence lawsuit filed against the Clinics of North Texas in Wichita Falls, Dr. John Stephen Dryden and Dr. Farid G. Khoury. The civil case is set for trial Aug. 25. Ralls, who said he had a normal sex life with his wife before the 1999 amputation, said he remains angry with his doctors. "I don't think they should have played God, myself," Ralls said Wednesday. "I'd love to have had a second opinion." The clinic and doctors declined to comment. Ralls said Dryden started treating him 15 years ago for kidney infections caused by lifelong bladder problems. Since he was in his mid-20s, Ralls said, he has urinated into a bag through a catheter attached to his ureters, the tubes carrying urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Ralls said he went in for surgery in November 1999 after Dryden said a biopsy showed he had bladder cancer. Dryden and Khoury, who assisted in the surgery, never mentioned that the cancer could be spreading and that they might have to remove other organs, Ralls said. In a February deposition, Dryden told Ralls' attorneys that while removing Ralls' bladder, he determined the cancer had spread to the penis. "I was the one looking at it, and I've seen it. I mean, it was cancer," Dryden testified. He said he did not take tissue samples to test for cancer because "I did not feel, in my medical judgment, that they were worthwhile." Ralls' attorney Steve Briley said such tests could have been done in 30 minutes in the same clinic. Briley said a Dallas doctor looking at cell slides later found that Ralls did not have penile cancer. Ralls and his wife of 35 years, Thelma, contend that even if he had penile cancer, it did not require immediate action. The couple said the doctors should have stopped operating, done a biopsy on penile tissue and discussed treatment options with them. He has not had reconstructive surgery because there is not enough tissue to do it, Briley said. The couple said they don't care how much money they might receive from the lawsuit but want to send a message that doctors should consult with patients before doing such a life-altering procedure. "They took a part of his life. It has affected him, affected me and affected our whole family," Thelma Ralls said. Neither Dryden nor Khoury have been disciplined or had license interruptions, according to the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. Complaints or investigations that don't result in disciplinary actions, however, are not made public, board spokeswoman Jane McFarland said. Ralls did not file a complaint with the state board because of his pending lawsuit, Briley said. Penile cancer is rare in America because most men are circumcised, and those who contract it are usually over the age of 60, according to the American Cancer Society. Penile cancer occurs in about one in 100,000 men in the United States, the group says. Dr. Bruce Blank, a Portland, Ore., urologist who has no connection to the Texas case, said cancer of the outer layers of the penis is different than cancer of the urethra, which is more common in men who have had other surgeries and scarring in that area. He said options include chemotherapy, radiation or removing part of the penis, depending on what the doctor and patient feel would be most effective. But treatment is based on whether the cancer is in the penis or urethra and how advanced and aggressive the disease is, said Blank, a member of the American Cancer Society National Assembly and the organization's Prostate Cancer Task Force. "As shocking as it may sound, (amputation) is a reasonable option for a patient who has an aggressive penile cancer," Blank said. "Removing the penis or part of the penis can be truly lifesaving."
Re: man loses manhood over medical negligence
Bboy wrote: Fri Aug 08, 2003 4:29 pm Penile cancer is rare in America because most men are circumcised...
Bullshit!
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sailorboy (imported)
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Re: man loses manhood over medical negligence
How do these so-called experts know how many males in America are circumcized? I am not circumcized and I don't recall anyone contacting me to see if I was/wasn't circumcized. The information is not in my DD-214 (Military Discharge) paper or anyone else's, so how can these "experts" know the percentage of circumcized males in the country. Where is the data and the source of the data?