A family whose life was turned upside down following an operation that went wrong are demanding answers from the health board.
Rachel Walby, 36, underwent an endometrial ablation, where the lining from the uterus is removed, but was left in acute pain.
Mrs Welby went to the Royal Gwent in Newport for the procedure in October last year.
All seemingly went well, until she was readmitted the next day.
It was later revealed she had a perforated uterus and a perforated bowel.
An investigation by the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has been unable to find out exactly how the injury happened and why it was not picked up immediately after the 83-second procedure.
Together with husband Rhys, Mrs Walby is demanding answers from the health board and feels the impact of her injuries, which has seen her have a hysterotomy and part of her intestine removed, has not been recognised by the health board.
She said: “It has been horrendous, but we’ve just had to try and deal with it and put up with it because of our children. It was something that shouldn’t have happened, we shouldn’t have had to deal with it.
Mr Walby, a self-employed shopfitter, has had to give up work temporary to help care for his wife.
He said: “They are not giving us any conclusive answers. What has happened to Rachel is very bad.
“The health board don’t realise the aftermath of it all.”
Mrs Walby, a mother-of-five and grandmother-of-one, praised her 17-year-old daughter Chelsea for helping to care for her other children, despite Chelsea being a new mum herself.
An investigation report into the “serious incident” said the procedure had a one in 10,000 chance of causing injury, but Mrs Walby said she felt the risks were never fully explained to her.
She has been told they would have been explained to her and that it was on the consent form she signed. However, she said a copy of the consent form has never been presented to her during the investigation.
The report states the machine to carry out the endometrial ablation was tested and was said to be working normally, although the Walbys have questioned the effectiveness of this as the machine did not have an electronic log with a history of the procedure.
The report concludes: “It is difficult to say when the uterine perforation occurred.”
Despite the ambiguity as to how Mrs Walby’s injuries occurred, the report makes several recommendations to make improvements in record-keeping when medics explain the risks of the procedure so they are recorded in patient notes.
The family, from Lansbury Park, Caerphilly, is now considering seeking legal advice in their quest to get answers.
A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “We are very sorry that Mrs Walby experienced complications following her operation last year.
“We have met with the family of Mrs Walby to discuss the findings of our investigation with them.
“We recognise that the complications Mrs Walby experienced has caused significant distress and disruption to her family and we would be happy to answer any further questions they may have.”