Mother Sues Doctors Over 8th Child - Pregnant After Tubes Tied

[matcom]

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A BRISBANE mother is suing her doctors after becoming pregnant with her eighth child after having her tubes tied.

Kerry Moore, 39, gave birth to son Jye on October 7, 2002, after a tubal ligation.

The procedure, using a Filshie clip, was performed at Brisbane's Redlands Hospital in 2001 by a trainee obstetrician and a third-year gynaecology registrar.

Redlands obstetrics and gynaecology department head Grahame Vaughan told the Supreme Court in Brisbane yesterday he saw Mrs Moore when she first came to inquire about the procedure.

He said he told her the operation was irreversible, but did have a failure rate of two to three pregnancies per 1000 patients.

Dr Vaughan said he later examined the fallopian tubes and the Filshie clips appeared to be effective and the operation done correctly.

His theory was that scar tissue had formed, allowing a temporary hole to be created that allowed the egg and sperm to meet.

However, Andrew Korda, from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, giving evidence for Mrs Moore, said it appeared to him the Filshie clip had been applied to a particular portion of the tube that was associated with an increased risk of pregnancy.

The case is continuing before judge John Muir.

In August 2003 the Queensland Government moved to limit payouts for parents who had children after failed sterilisation procedures.

This followed a $200,000 payout to Queensland couple Kerry and Craig Melchior. The High Court upheld the couple's compensation for the cost of raising their son Jordan, who was born in 1997 after a failed sterilisation.


http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12180649-13762,00.html