Carolyn DeWaegeneire was "shattered" and in a state of shock for years after a doctor cut out her genitals, unable to complain about the unauthorised surgery, an Australian jury has heard. Told that she would be in hospital for about three days for a "simple" procedure in August 2002, the then 58-year-old woke from her anaesthetic in pain with stitches that felt "like barbed wire". The doctor who performed the surgery, and cannot be named for legal reasons, is standing trial before a jury at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court after pleading not guilty to charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Ms DeWaegeneire and excising her clitoris.
Giving evidence yesterday, the mother-of-two, who was widowed in 2001, recalled giving consent to the doctor only for the removal of a small piece of skin on her vulva, identified to be a form of pre-cancer. "If I had known that my clitoris was going to be cut off there is no way I would have walked through that hospital door," Ms DeWaegeneire said of the procedure, which left her in a NSW hospital on painkillers for six days.
Ms DeWaegeneire said in evidence the doctor told her of his intention when she was "helpless", about to pass-out from anaesthesia on the operating table. "His face came close to mine and for my ears only he said 'I'm going to take your clitoris too' with which I slid under the anaesthetic," Ms DeWaegeneire said. Crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen SC asked: "Did you have the opportunity to respond?" "I was gone," Ms DeWaegeneire replied. Ms Cunneen: "Had the accused ever told you that he intended to take your clitoris?"
Ms DeWaegeneire: "If that had been mentioned you would not have seen me for dust". She said when she woke from surgery "I knew what had happened and I was shattered". The court heard that the doctor told a nurse it did not matter that he had cut out the patient's clitoris, because her husband was dead. The jury trial before Judge Greg Woods continues today. It is expected to take three weeks.
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