My husband had a vasectomy in February of 2008. Since that time he has been in agonizing pain. At first it seemed normal post surgery recovery. He had some bleeding under the skin, and severe bruising, but otherwise was mending. We did call the doctor on call a day after because he was so bruised. The original doctor hadn’t given him any care information or told him what to expect. The doctor on call said the bruising was normal as long as there wasn’t severe swelling, there was some swelling but he began to go down 3 days later. My husband about 1 month later developed a pea size lump. He requested that the doctor who performed the procedure to examine him but the doctor refused, saying my husband needed to see "an impartial third party" to see if it was due to the way procedure was done or something else. To us this seemed like a ridiculous excuse to simply dismiss my husband. The only urologist in town wanted 500 for an in office visit, without insurance there was no way for us to pay for this. My husband finally chose to go to the hospital ER. At first the doctor said it could be cancer, however another doctor said it was definitely scar tissue from the vasectomy and that he needed to see a specialist on the exact cause and how to handle it. Finally the original doctor agreed to see him and said the lump was caused by sperm. He prescribed one medication, and said my husband would need to take it for 2-6 months. (We were in shock, 6 months on a medication?) After 3 months there was absolutely no improvement and the pain was still severe. The doctor called in another prescription and told my husband to take it for 2 more months. Again, no improvement. We finally went 40 miles away to see another urologist who was willing to accept payment. They viewed the doctors original notes, and the hospitals ultra sound film and said that it was in fact caused by sperm, but the medication that my husband had been given both times was for kidney infections, and would have absolutely no effect on the cyst. He was given 2 other types of medication that have given him some relief, but not completely.
Prior to this procedure my husband was given no information on possible side effects or problems resulting from the vasectomy. The information he was given by Planned parenthood on how this would be completed was wrong. No one seems willing to help him after the fact.
Does my husband have grounds to sue the doctor for the pain he continues to have almost a year later?
