A gynaecologist should be suspended from the medical register to “protect the public” after he refused to refer a woman for a mammogram, despite her having a “red flag” symptom for breast cancer, an inquiry has heard.
On Wednesday, a fitness-to-practise committee concluded its inquiry into Jaroslaw Krzyzanowski, whose address was given as The Medicus Medical Centre in Dublin 7. It made findings of poor professional practise against him.
The committee ruled that the gynaecologist did not recognise the significance of an inverted nipple in the patient at his clinic on September 25th, 2020, and that he failed to arrange for appropriate investigations to be carried out in relation to this.
The committee also found a separate allegation proven that Dr Krzyzanowski had carried out breast ultrasounds on the woman on September 25th, 2020, and May 20th, 2021, when he did not have the required skill or expertise.
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Caoimhe Daly, counsel for the Medical Council, said a retracted nipple was “a red flag [that] should have immediately necessitated a referral” for a mammogram.
She said there were “basic principles that weren’t followed”, which resulted in a “serious basic failing that had serious consequences for the complainant”.
“There was a delay in diagnosis in her cancer such that she then had to have more invasive treatment than she would have otherwise had to have,” Ms Daly said.
“All of those findings put it in the serious bracket - at the upper end of the seriousness with regard to sanction.”
Speaking on behalf of the chief executive of the Medical Council, Ms Daly said the “appropriate sanction” for the doctor was a period of suspension.
Following this proposed suspension, Ms Daly said the doctor should have conditions attached to his registration, including that he must notify the council if or when he returns to work in Ireland, specify the location of such work, and must not conduct the type of ultrasounds that gave rise to the complaint.
“It is so serious that it is necessary to protect the public. It is necessary to have a suspension,” she said.
Dr Krzyzanowski, who was self-represented, and who is originally from Poland, said this complaint was the only one made against him in his long career.
The 72-year-old doctor said he had not worked in Ireland since September 2024 and, as such, there was a suspension essentially in effect already. He added that he had no intention to return to work in the State.
Patricia Dillon, legal assessor for the Medical Council, said the doctor put forward “a number of factors” that led to the issues, one of which was that the differences in referral pathways between Poland and Ireland were not explained to him.
The committee closed the inquiry to consider the submissions and will make recommendations to the Medical Council regarding potential sanctions.
