On Oct. 1, 2001, plaintiff Catherine Cirillo, 41 and a court clerk, received a total abdominal hysterectomy at Princeton Medical Center. In performing the surgery Dr. Bruce Pierce damaged her bladder and removed her cervix, although Cirillo had requested that it be preserved. Not until three weeks after the surgery did she learn that she’d lost her cervix.Cirillo sued for medical malpractice and also for battery, because Dr. Pierce had removed her cervix without informed consent. She alleged that Dr. Pierce failed to exercise good and reasonable medical care and deviated from accepted standards of accepted gynecological practice.
Cirillo started treating with Dr. Pierce on Aug. 1, 2001 for pelvic pain and discomfort during intercourse. On Sept. 14, 2001, they met to discuss the hysterectomy, and Cirillo specifically asked that he not remove her cervix. He agreed.
Shortly after surgery, she started leaking urine, so she returned to Dr. Pierce on Oct. 17. He referred her to an urologist, Dr. Pickens, who performed an exam and discovered that her cervix was missing. Only then was Cirillo informed.
Dr. Herbert Goldfarb, an OB-GYN, determined that Cirillo’s bladder would not have been damaged if Dr. Pierce had performed a subtotal hysterectomy and not removed Cirillo’s cervix, which required shifting the bladder. Dr. Goldfarb found Dr. Pierce fully responsible for improperly removing the cervix, and also negligent in inadequately evaluating the bladder tissue and not noticing the tear.
Dr. Pierce denied medical malpractice and battery. Defense counsel argued that the removal of the cervix was inadvertent in that Dr. Pierce had forgotten her instructions.
While Cirillo had asked that her cervix be preserved to maintain her sexual pleasure and satisfaction, Dr. Elynne Margulis, an OB-GYN, said that the removal of the cervix does not affect sexual satisfaction. Dr. Margulis found Dr. Pierce not at fault for the torn bladder tissue, as it is a known risk of the surgery.
Dr. Pierce claimed that at a post-op visit to his office, while he was examining Cirillo regarding the urine leak, he informed her that he had removed her cervix.
Catherine Cirillo claimed that Dr. Pierce permanently mutilated her body and caused permanent injury to her bladder. She had four subsequent in-patient hospitalizations at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania for repair of the bladder.
Cirillo had several years of psychological counseling. Psychiatrist Ronnie Lee Seltzer diagnosed Cirillo with post-traumatic stress and major depressive disorder, as a result of the surgery.
She claimed loss of sexual sensation, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. She sustained $16,000 in lost wages and between $4000 and $5000 in additional expenses.
After mediation before retired Judge Robert Quakenboss, the case was settled for $750,000.