Woman Alleges Husband, Cross River Doctor ‘T!ed Her W0mb,’ Removed Fall0pian Tub£ Without Consent After Fifth Childbirth
Woman Alleges Husband, Cross River Doctor ‘Tied Her Womb,’ Removed Fallopian Tube Without Consent After Fifth Childbirth
She says the procedure left her battling years of pain, bleeding, and emotional trauma.
Mrs. Ezaegu Maria Nnenna has accused her husband, Mr. Edwin Mbam Ezaegu, and a medical doctor, Pastor Dr. A.M. Udoh of Cross River State, of secretly ‘tying her womb” (fallopian tubes) or removing her fallopian tube (tubal ligation) without her consent during the birth of her fifth child in 2017.
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She says the procedure left her battling years of pain, bleeding, and emotional trauma.
Nnenna, originally from Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State but now residing in Cross River, alleged that the operation was carried out at Immanuel Infirmary Hospital, Ikot Effanga, Calabar Municipal, a private facility owned by Pastor Dr. Udoh.
Recounting her ordeal, she explained that she was admitted to the hospital on July 2, 2017, for delivery.
According to her, the doctor assured her that she would have a normal childbirth, just as she had experienced with her previous four children.
However, after examining her, Dr. Udoh reportedly left the hospital and instructed the nurses on duty to proceed with the delivery in his absence.
Tubal ligation is a surgical procedure used as a permanent form of birth control (female sterilisation).
It involves blocking, cutting, tying, clipping, or sealing a woman’s fallopian tubes, which prevents an egg from travelling from the ovaries to the uterus and prevents sperm from reaching the egg.
The fallopian tubes are the pathways through which eggs move from the ovaries to the womb. When these tubes are blocked or cut, pregnancy becomes highly unlikely.
“About an hour later, one of the nurses told me the doctor had asked them to prepare the theatre because of me. I kept asking what the problem was because there was no complication, but nobody explained anything to me,” she said.
Nnena alleged that when the doctor returned, she was injected and placed under anesthesia despite repeatedly demanding to know why surgery was being carried out.
“When I woke up, I saw bandages on my body after the operation. Nobody explained anything to me. Even my elder brother, Mr. Thomas Okemini, who came to the hospital, was shocked and demanded answers from the doctor, but he refused to explain,” she stated.
She further alleged that she later discovered that her husband’s sister, Chinenye Oluchi Egenti, who had accompanied her to the hospital, had switched off her mobile phone under what she described as suspicious circumstances, leaving her unable to contact anyone.
According to Nnenna, Chinenye also refused to explain what had transpired before, during, and after the surgery, a development she said deepened her concerns about the circumstances surrounding the procedure.
She claimed that when she sought answers from the medical team, the doctor insisted that he would only discuss the matter in the presence of her husband.
At the time, she said, her husband was reportedly being held in police custody in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, following his arrest in connection with an alleged bunkering-related case.
“Three days later, when my husband came back, I begged him to find out why they operated on me. After meeting the doctor, he simply told me that since the baby and I were alive, I should forget about it,” she said.
The mother of five recounted that after being discharged, she continued to suffer severe pain, persistent bleeding, and contractions, which eventually forced her to seek care at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.
There, doctors demanded details of her earlier surgery when her condition showed no improvement.
Nnena said that upon confronting Dr. Udoh again and requesting her medical records, he finally admitted that her womb had been tied.
“That was when he told me to go and ask my husband. Later, he admitted that my tube had been tied,” she alleged.
According to her, when she confronted her husband, he admitted authorising the procedure.
Nnena said she petitioned the police in Calabar after enduring years of pain and emotional distress in 2021. During the investigation, she alleged, the doctor admitted to performing the procedure but claimed he had done so on the instructions of her husband.
“The police officers were shocked and asked the doctor if he would have done such a thing if I were his daughter,” she said.
Nnena further alleged that medical tests conducted at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital later revealed one of her fallopian tubes had been cut off.
She accused the police of failing to diligently pursue the case despite repeated invitations and meetings spanning several years. She also disclosed that her husband later approached a court in Ebonyi State seeking a divorce.
According to her, the court declined to dissolve the marriage and instead ordered separation pending efforts to address her medical condition.
“As I speak, I still suffer severe pains and abnormal bleeding. I spend most of my money on drugs and hospital visits. All I want is justice and for those responsible to explain why this was done to me without my consent,” she said.
SaharaReporters obtained a hysterosalpingogram, a specialised X-ray test, conducted on Nnena at the Department of Radiology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital in Cross River State.
The report, dated April 27, 2021, and signed by Drs. Okwueze, J. Ani, and Effanga, states: “The visualized bones of the pelvis and the overlying soft tissues are normal.
“No fracture/ dislocation seen.
“On retrograde introduction of 40mls of dilute urographin through a cervical cannula, anchored at the internal cervical os, the cervical canal and uterine cavity were outlined.
“The cervical canal was partly visualized and it appears normal.
“The uterine cavity appears normal in size and outline with rounding up of the right corneal margin of the uterus.
“The left fallopian tube is outlined in its entirety and it shows spillage of contrast which is initially held up at the left sacroiliac joint.
“The right fallopian tube is not demonstrated.
“In the delayed image there was a near complete clearance of contrast.”
The report concluded: “Non patent right fallopian tube; pelvic adhesion; and left patent fallopian tube.”
When SaharaReporters reached out to Dr. Udoh for comment, he said he could no longer clearly recall the incident, describing it as something that had happened a long time ago.
“I don’t know about that. It’s a very long story, and I cannot really say much about it. There must have been reasons for whatever decision was taken at the time. We do not carry out procedures without medical reasons,” he said.
He added that if the husband was aware of the situation, then explanations or reasons must have been provided for whatever transpired.
“But honestly, I’m not sure about the details. I do not know much about the matter,” he added.
When asked again whether he personally carried out the surgery, Dr. Udoh responded, “I can’t remember clearly, that’s what I’m saying,” maintaining that he could not recall the details of the incident.
