A jury handed down a $1.5 million award in a medical malpractice lawsuit brought by a 30-year-old woman who claimed that a surgeon's decision to delay her surgery caused her to lose almost all of her small intestine, which impacts her life on a daily basis.

The woman reportedly now suffers from short gut syndrome after other surgeons were required to remove all but a couple feet of her small intestine because of a dangerous congenital condition.

The woman was just 21 when she was admitted to the hospital on June 5, 2003, complaining of abdominal pains. Her first surgeon initially made plans to operate early the next day, but then postponed the procedure and left town for the weekend.

The woman's condition continued to worsen, and doctors left in charge feared that she could die without an operation. Emergency surgery was performed, and it was discovered that the woman had ischemic bowel disease, which required the removal of most of her small intestine.

Doctors found that the woman suffered from a congenital blood clotting disorder that had shut off the flow of blood to and from her bowel, causing it to die. The original surgeon concluded that the woman had a kidney infection, but failed to realize how serious her condition was.

The woman, who once worked as a special education teacher, told the court that she would not have suffered such serious damages if the surgery had been performed right away. She said she is unable to obtain proper nutrition by eating, as food passes through her stomach in 30 minutes, instead of the six to eight hours it takes most people.

After a four day trial, the jury agreed that the surgeon had committed malpractice by putting off the surgery.

Source: News and Tribune, "Jury awards $1.5 million in medical malpractice suit," Matt Thacker, Jan. 20, 2012