‘I’m grieving my old body’: How a young woman lost her ovary to a surgeon now under investigation

In March 2025, in a consulting room in East Melbourne, Isabelle Metaxotos says she received a terrifying ultimatum from well-known gynaecologist Dr Simon Gordon.

The now-26-year-old says Gordon told her that her left ovary was no longer ovulating and if it wasn’t swiftly removed she would lose the ability to walk within six months.

“I just broke down,” Metaxotos recalled.

“He was so convincing. You trust the medical professional sitting in front of you.”

A month later, in what would be Gordon’s third and most drastic endometriosis surgery on Metaxotos, he removed the young woman’s left ovary and fallopian tube.

It wasn’t until rumours about Gordon’s sudden retirement circulated on an endometriosis group on Facebook in November that Metaxotos started questioning her surgeries, especially the final one, after which she was in more pain than ever before.

She requested her pathology reports from Gordon’s rooms at the Epworth hospital and scans from the women’s ultrasound clinic he had referred her to.

The report from the ultrasound clinic, taken just weeks before the third surgery, described Metaxotos’ left ovary as tender, with decreased mobility but “normal in size and appearance”.

The ultrasound clinic’s report stated that her allegedly dead ovary had 10 follicles – the vital sacs that protect and mature eggs and secrete the hormones required for ovulation and fertility.

“I had concrete evidence in front of me that my ovary was not dead,” she said. “It was ovulating. There was no need to remove that organ.”

This masthead showed the reports to two leading gynaecologists – from hospitals that did not authorise them to speak publicly – who both said there was no clinical evidence to justify the removal of Metaxotos’ left ovary and fallopian tube.

The reports show that while endometriosis was detected during Metaxotos’ first surgery, it was not detected after the second and third surgery.

“It is a normal, working ovary and a normal fallopian tube,” one gynaecologist said. “This is shocking.”

Another said: “There is nothing on that scan that suggests an ovary needed to be removed.”

Metaxotos is among dozens of women pursuing legal action against Gordon over what they claim are unnecessary surgeries to treat endometriosis. She was left $14,500 out of pocket for the three surgeries.

The revelations follow reports in this masthead earlier this month that the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency is investigating Gordon over allegations he performed unnecessary endometriosis surgeries on women, including removing their ovaries and uteruses, despite no clinical evidence justifying these procedures.

Gordon abruptly retired from the Epworth Hospital late last year and surrendered his medical registration last month. He previously said he decided to retire for personal reasons and had always acted ethically and responsibly.

Last week, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler wrote to Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas and asked her to consider a Safer Care Victoria investigation into clinical governance at the Epworth.

“I was horrified to read the experiences of these women – these allegations are abhorrent and among the worst I have personally seen,” Butler told this masthead.

“I’ve heard from so many Australian women about how hard it is to get diagnosis and treatment for endometriosis – who suffer through years of pain and medical appointments, and then to face this kind of apparent extreme betrayal is just heartbreaking.”

Epworth HealthCare has already commissioned an independent review of the hospital’s clinical governance in response to the allegations about Gordon, which chief executive Professor Andrew Stripp described as “deeply confronting”.

“This review will consider whether there are further improvements we can make to strengthen oversight and escalation pathways. If improvements are identified, they will be implemented,” Stripp said, adding that he had also liaised with Safer Care Victoria and welcomed the organisation’s advice.

He said concerns about the surgeon were not raised with senior management until October, and they were referred to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

Gordon has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said it was inappropriate to comment on individual patients.

He said histology (the microscopic study of biological tissues and cells) was only one part of the diagnostic picture that provided a snapshot of one small part of the anatomy.

“It is also necessary to consider the entire clinical picture including the patient’s history and visual observations of tissue intraoperatively,” he said.

“It is recognised that in some patients with significant pelvic adhesions and scar tissue that not all areas can be safely accessed.”

He said adhesions caused by endometriosis could cause terrible ongoing symptoms even when the endometriosis was inactive.

“It does not logically follow that surgery addressing those symptomatic adhesions is not clinically indicated or potentially of great benefit to the patient,” he said.

Gordon said he had never performed surgery to treat endometriosis or any other condition unless he was absolutely convinced it was in the patient’s best interests.

Metaxotos said while the first endometriosis surgery performed by Gordon relieved her of some of the pain she had experienced since she was a teenager, the second and third surgery exacerbated her pain.

She now experiences shooting nerve pain in her legs that prevents her from standing for more than 15 minutes. She can no longer work full-time and has lost trust in the medical system.

“I’m grieving my old body,” she says. “I used to love baking, making cakes for every family event. I haven’t baked in months. I have to live as a zombie on painkillers just to get through the day.”

The situation has also taken a toll on her mental health, and she now sees a therapist and has started taking antidepressants.

She wants to have children with her husband when she is older but worries about her fertility. While Metaxotos froze her eggs after Gordon’s removal of her left ovary, she would like the option of conceiving naturally.

She is among about 20 clients who are investigating legal action against Gordon through Shine Lawyers in a bid to receive compensation for the pain and suffering they have endured.

“I feel like my whole endometriosis journey has been a lie. I feel so betrayed, and I feel embarrassed and ashamed that I listened to this person.”

Daniel Opare, Shine Lawyers’ medical law practice leader, said he had serious concerns that the clinical material did not support the removal of Metaxotos’ ovary or fallopian tube.

“The ultrasound findings were benign, and the histopathology confirms viable and non‑diseased tissue,” he said.

“Learning that surgery she believed she needed may not have been necessary has been devastating for Isabelle. It has compounded the physical loss she has suffered with a deep sense of shock and distress.”

He said the law firm was reviewing a substantial number of potential claims.

“In some cases, the care provided may be entirely appropriate; in others, there are serious questions to be examined around surgical decision‑making, documentation, and the adequacy of informed consent.”

Endometriosis Australia medical director Associate Professor Anusch Yazdani said the revelations had left the endometriosis community reeling and feeling betrayed.

“People have already gone through the trauma of missed or delayed diagnosis,” he said.

He said surgery remained one of several recognised treatments for endometriosis, but first-line management usually involved hormonal therapy and symptom management.

He advised people with endometriosis to always get a copy of their images, operation report and histology report before and after surgery.

“If endometriosis isn’t found, then question what was done and why it was done.”

In a statement on Friday, National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Dr Liz Jackson said “ethical, skilled gynaecologists deserved fair process and professional solidarity”.

She said women living with chronic pain were often exhausted by years of symptoms and fragmented care.

“When trust is shaken at a system level, it reverberates in individual consultations,” she said.

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