Sask. woman says boyfriend removed surgical screw poking out of her head after doctor didn’t believe her

Stephanie Faure knew something was wrong when she woke up feeling pressure in her head.

Surgeons had opened up her skull 14 months earlier to remove brain tumours. They performed a craniotomy that left her with a metal plate, screws and a scar.

So when she looked more closely at her head on Sunday and saw what looked like a screw pushing out through her skin, she decided to go to the hospital. 

She said she waited five and a half hours at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. When she finally got to see a doctor, she said he told her it wasn’t a screw and that it was a cyst.

“He wasn’t even looking at it,” Faure told CBC News, standing outside the hospital entrance on Monday. “You could pretty visibly see what it was. And he was just telling me it wasn’t what I was seeing.”

She said she asked to get a second opinion from another doctor or nurse, but was told “No,” and was asked to leave. 

“He said he had other people to help,” she said.

Boyfriend removes screw

Faure went home, and that night her boyfriend used a pair of tweezers to pull the screw out. 

“It definitely wanted to come out,” she said, almost laughing. “It was moving as the day went, so it wasn’t too hard [to remove] by that time.”

She showed CBC News the screw — a tiny, silver screw, smaller than a thumbnail — the kind that holds a titanium plate to a human skull.

Faure still has brain cancer. She’s not in active chemotherapy, but takes medication daily.

She’s had a lot of experience with the health-care system and has felt dismissed by doctors before, but Faure said this was more frustrating because of how “very clearly” she knew what was happening but the doctor didn’t believe her.

In a statement, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said it takes concerns about patient experiences and interactions seriously. It directed patients with complaints to its client concern specialists process.

The statement said the health authority could not comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation. No one was made available for an interview.

WATCH | Saskatoon woman says boyfriend removed screw from her head after failed ER visit:

Saskatoon woman says boyfriend removed a surgical screw from her skull after failed ER visit

Stephanie Faure describes how a surgical screw came loose after her craniotomy, and how she didn’t get the help she wanted at Royal University Hospital’s emergency department.

Plans to file complaint

Faure said she’s planning to file a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS).

She said she’s hoping to get some accountability and for the doctor “to realize that’s not how you treat people.” 

CBC tried to contact the doctor but didn’t hear back before this article was published. The doctor doesn’t appear to have a record of disciplinary action, according to the CPSS website.

Faure said she followed up with her family doctor to make sure the extraction hadn’t caused any damage and the wound would heal properly. 

She said she’s done some research and she’s not worried about permanent damage, but she is worried about the next person who walks into the hospital with something real and gets sent home.

“Just try to advocate for yourself,” she said. “Stand up for yourself the best that you can … I guess it didn’t go great for me, so — have better luck.”