Woman claims fertility doctor accidentally injected her with acid

A suburban Philadelphia woman claims she was accidentally injected with a flesh-burning acid during a routine medical procedure — an “unthinkable” mix-up that left her disfigured and wondering if she’ll ever have children.

The 33-year-old woman, identified only as Christine, was getting her fallopian tubes checked for blockages at Main Line Fertility in Pennsylvania on Dec. 19, 2022.

She said her doctor, Allison Bloom, went to inject her with saline, but it turned out to be trichloroacetic acid, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Christine, a Montessori preschool teacher, recalled feeling an immediate surge of pain.

“I kept saying, ’Something is off. Something is wrong. Is it supposed to burn?’” she told the Inquirer.

“No, it’s just saline,” Bloom reportedly replied as she continued the 15-minute procedure, known as a saline infusion sonogram.

Red welts began to appear on Christine’s inner thighs and legs, prompting the ultrasound technician to doublecheck the bottle.

Bloom had injected TCA, at an 85% concentration, into Christine, the Inquirer reported, citing medical records.

The substance, which has been used as an herbicide and for surface treatment of metals, is also dabbed on genital warts in extremely small doses.

It’s highly irritating, potentially carcinogenic and possibly harmful to reproductive health. 

“Danger! Causes severe skin burns and eye damage. Suspected of causing cancer,” read the bottle of TCA at the fertility clinic.

Christine said she recalled Bloom yelling: “All hands on deck! Get everybody in here!”

Christine was taken by ambulance to a burn center 35 miles away, where she was diagnosed with first- and second-degree internal and external chemical burns.

She believed she was having an allergic reaction and only learned what was happening from a paramedic who reportedly told her: “Oh, honey, they didn’t put saline solution through you, that was acid.”

Now the scar tissue in Christine’s body resembles “leather,” and her dream of having children with her husband, Jason, may be over. She is emotionally scarred as well.

“There’s not a day that goes by that you’re not reminded, ‘Oh, yeah, this happened to me,’” she said.

“It doesn’t stop, and I feel like they just put it behind them, that it was just a blip in their day, ‘Oops, a mistake was made. Carry on. Forget it ever happened.’”

The couple filed a lawsuit against Main Line Fertility in March, accusing the clinic of negligence, recklessness and failure to follow best practices.

They are seeking monetary damages from the clinic, claiming its representatives never apologized or explained why the error took place.

The Post reached out to Main Line Fertility for comment. 

While Bloom acknowledged the mix-up in Christine’s records, a clinic spokesperson told the Inquirer that Bloom did not fill the syringe and wasn’t responsible for the error — an assertion the couple’s lawyer contests. 

“We intend to hold Dr. Bloom and other Main Line Fertility defendants accountable for the grossly irresponsible actions that led to this unthinkable scenario unfolding in the first place,” lawyer Robert S. Miller said.