Can you examine a cervix and uterus that don't exist? This doctor said he did

A Prince Edward Island physician who said he examined a patient’s cervix and uterus during a procedure—more than four decades after these reproductive organs had been removed—has been reprimanded and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus $6,500 in investigation and hearing costs. Dr. Henry Swart, a gynecologist in Summerside, was investigated for this complaint initially under the province’s now-repealed Medical Act— and then concluded under the updated law, the Regulated Health Professions Act. It was based on a complaint filed by another physician, who said that in 2016, Dr. Swart performed an invasive procedure on a patient and, in the course of it, reported examining the patient’s cervix and uterus. Dr. Swart later claimed to be unaware that the patient’s cervix and uterus had been removed surgically in 1974, according to a notice posted online by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Prince Edward Island. Read: Green for 'go have unprotected sex': This FDA-approved contraception app is worse than the old fashioned Rhythm Method “The evidence gathered during the investigation suggested that the member failed to realize that the patient lacked a cervix and uterus despite review of radiological imaging that supported a history of a previous hysterectomy, and despite his physical exam and procedure notes suggesting her altered anatomy,” wrote the college. “In addition to this, the member’s decision to proceed with an invasive procedure could have resulted in patient harm.” This was not the first time Dr. Swart faced disciplinary action. In 2019, the college suspended him for three months and hit with him $20,000 in fine and costs after he admitted to performing a cystotomy without a patient’s consent, while she was under anesthesia for another procedure and after she had told him she didn’t want any other surgeries done without her express consent. Dr. Swart told the college he had gone ahead with the cystotomy with good intentions, thinking it would repair complications from a hysterectomy. However the surgery was unsuccessful. The patient had to wear a catheter until she could be scheduled in for corrective surgery several months later. About a decade earlier, the college had found Dr. Swart failed to demonstrate skills or judgment when treating a condition called cervical dysplasia. Read: A pain in the penis

Can you examine a cervix and uterus that don't exist? This doctor said he did

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