Out-of-womb operation was necessary, says Matilda obstetrician accused of professional misconduct
Surgery for suspected out-of-womb pregnancy was not unnecessary, doctor tells council
An obstetrician accused of carrying out an unnecessary operation on a woman for a suspected out-of-womb pregnancy said yesterday it would have been negligent not to have done it.
Dr Michael Rogers was defending himself before the Medical Council against a charge of professional misconduct.
The council heard that he performed a diagnostic laparoscopy - an examination using a camera on a tube inserted through a small incision made in the abdomen - on Poon Wing on May 6, 2011, after she complained of abdominal pain and a late period.
The operation was carried out at the Matilda International Hospital on The Peak after a consultation at the Quality HealthCare clinic in Central.
Rogers, who has practised in Hong Kong for 30 years, is alleged to have gone ahead with the surgery without properly advising Poon of all options and without proper justification.
He said he suspected an ectopic pregnancy as her pregnancy test was positive although two ultrasound scans showed no fetus in her uterus. He told her the condition was "urgent and could be life threatening" and arranged for the laparoscopy to confirm whether or not she was pregnant and find out the cause of her internal bleeding.