A radiologist has apologised to the family of a 16-year-old girl who died of a tumour that was initially missed on an MRI scan.
Head MRI showing deep intracerebral hemorrhage (cerebellum) Photo: (By Bobjgalindo - Own work, GFDL)
The teenager had been diagnosed with a high-risk brain tumour six years earlier and underwent neurosurgery to have it removed.
She had regular follow-up checks, none of which found any sign of tumours.
But when a tumour was eventually found, it was discovered it had been there for eight months and would have been present during one of the scans cleared by the radiologist.
A report from Health and Disability Commissioner Anthony Hill found the radiologist failed to provide a reasonable level of care.
Mr Hill said the failure to recognise the tumour was down to human error, but it was impossible to know if the outcome for the young woman would have been different if it had been found earlier.
"We had a known disease, that was known to be a threat for recurrence, it occurred in a way that was not wholly unexpected and ... and it was missed on the scan that was designed to pick it up," he wrote.
"Any recurrence of this particular kind of tumour was going to create very serious health concerns for this young woman, so it's really not possible to predict what might've happened," he said.
Mr Hill recommended the radiologist's DHB, which has not been named in the report, review its staffing levels and radiology service.
"This young woman has now passed away and her health experience was an extremely sad and grievous journey... It's been a tragedy for this family," he said.