Studyvin v. Weston
Studyvin v. Weston
Opinion of the Court
In February, 1916, the plaintiff was in a hospital at Des Moines, in care of the defendant, as a surgeon, for a period of five days. He performed a surgical operation upon her, consisting in the lancing of a urethral abscess. It was located upon the urethra and upon the vagina wall. At the time of the operation, the defendant used a piece of cheesecloth, or surgeon’s gauze, for the purpose of absorbing blood and pus from the incision. This was placed as a packing within the vagina. The particular piece used by the defendant was described by the plaintiff’s husband, as a witness, as being 2 feet long and 2% inches wide. Ten weeks after the discharge of plaintiff from the hospital, she discovered a smaller piece of cloth or gauze within the vagina, and removed the same. The ultimate
Assuming, however, for the sake of the argument, that the defendant should have warned the plaintiff, and should have instructed her as to the removal of the packing, and that he failed in his duty in such respect, yet the evidence wholly fails to show that the presence of the packing resulted in any injury to her. At the time of the operation, and for some time prior thereto, the plaintiff was suffering from a serious disease. One of the resulting effects of such disease was the abscess for which she obtained surgical relief. The surgical operation was not calculated to check the disease. The defendant did not treat her for such disease. The symptoms suffered by the plaintiff after the surgical operation were of the same kind as those suffered before the operation, though they grew more severe with the progress of the disease. Two expert witnesses testified
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.