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Friday, May 22, 2009

Patients anxious to get results in radiology review

Joanne Sigurdson, from Canora, Sask., is considering traveling outside the province to get a new mammogram test. Joanne Sigurdson, from Canora, Sask., is considering traveling outside the province to get a new mammogram test. (Photo submitted by Joanne Sigurdson)

The review of thousands of diagnostic tests in Saskatchewan is creating anxiety for some patients who have been told their exams are being rechecked.

The review was ordered because of questions raised about the work of Yorkton radiologist Dr. Darius Tsatsi. Some 70,000 mammograms, X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasound exams are being looked at, a second time.

On Wednesday, the Yorkton-based Sunrise Health Region announced it suspended Tsatsi from privileges at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre on May 14 after serious problems were found in cases he had been involved in.

Tsatsi has agreed to stop practicing medicine while the review is underway.

Joanne Sigurdson, from Canora in east-central Saskatchewan, told CBC News on Friday that she contacted a toll-free free information line, to learn more about two mammograms performed on her in September 2008.

She said Tsatsi examined her test results and determined there was nothing to be concerned about. However, Sigurdson is anxious to learn if that was a reliable finding.

Sigurdson said that she was told, in her call to the information line, that she would be contacted only if a problem was detected in the review of her file.

She said that she is on pins and needles, wondering what news she will hear. She added she is considering travelling outside the province to get another mammogram test, to put her mind at ease.