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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992                   TAG: 9202060085
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Kathy Loan
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

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DOCTORS ANSWER HYSTERECTOMY LAWSUIT

Two Montgomery County doctors have responded to a $2 million lawsuit filed by a Pulaski County woman who says they performed a hysterectomy on her without her consent.

In papers filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, Dr. David L. Meincke and Dr. William A. Isenhour say Diane C. Whited consented to the surgery, and that Meincke's decision to perform a total abdominal hysterectomy was appropriate and in compliance with the appropriate standard of care.

The malpractice suit, filed Jan. 10, says Whited received the hysterectomy in November 1989 after being admitted to Montgomery Regional Hospital for abdominal surgery.

Her attorney, Jimmy Turk of Radford, said Whited, who is in her early 30s, had signed a consent form that said a hysterectomy was a possibility, but she told the doctors she didn't want a hysterectomy.

Turk said Whited was led to believe that signing the form was standard procedure and that a hysterectomy would not be performed.

In their response, Meincke and Isenhour deny telling Whited a hysterectomy would not be necessary. According to the doctors, Meincke performed the hysterectomy and Isenhour was consulted.

The response also claims that the suit is legally defective because it seeks damages in excess of $1 million. The hospital and the doctors are covered by a state code that limits malpractice damages recoverable from health care providers to $1 million.

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