Biopsy blunder doctor worked at city hospital for one year

THE pathologist whose incorrect analysis led 41-year-old breast cancer patient Rebecca O’Malley to believe she did not have the disease worked at Cork University Hospital for at least one year, it has emerged.

The HSE has confirmed, meanwhile, that all biopsies performed by that expert will now be reviewed — without reference to the original results.

The number of biopsies undergoing review could rise far beyond the original 28 cases initially selected by Ms O’Malley’s Limerick-based consultant, as the entire workload of the Cork-based pathologist will now be scrutinised.

That means an anxious wait for many more women whose breast biopsies were assessed by the pathologist at CUH. The HSE would not rule out making a formal complaint about the pathologists to the Medical Council, meanwhile, as it revealed that the expert now works abroad.

Yesterday, the faculty of pathology at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland was in talks with the health executive to determine the terms of reference of any such review, and the extent of the “look-back” period.

Dr Gerard Boran, dean of pathology at the college, said, “We haven’t decided yet when it will be done or who will do it or whether the HSE has bigger plans if there are additional cases.

“We are awaiting clarification,” he added.

Claims by two other women that their breast cancer cases were also misdiagnosed may complicate matters. The biopsy of one of these women is believed to have been analysed by a British laboratory, which could yet necessitate an extended review.

The patient affected by the blunder, Ms O’Malley, said yesterday, meanwhile, that she has still not received satisfactory answers.

“I am still none the wiser. No audit of what happened to my biopsy slide has been done,” she said.

“The report I got from the HSE was an outline of a list of communications between CUH and the Mid West Regional Hospital in Limerick,” she added.

Last night, a spokesperson for the executive was not in a position to comment on media reports that a 38-year-old Limerick woman given the all clear for breast cancer, was told four weeks later that she had the disease.

Nor could the health executive comment on a third woman, Breda Flanagan from Ballina near Killaloe, Co Clare — a neighbour of Rebecca O’Malley — who claims that after she had a mastectomy, in 2005, the hospital told her that an abnormality had shown up in a previous mammogram, carried out in 2003.

A total of 17 women have contacted a helpline set up on Thursday at CUH, and a similar helpline has been operating at the Mid West Regional Hospital in Limerick, where Ms O’Malley’s consultant is based where Ms O’Malley’s consultant is based. Ms O’Malley’s consultant previously sent biopsy samples to CUH for analysis. The CUH helpline is 1800 742 800. The Limerick helpline is 061-482796.