NORFOLK, Va. - Tabitha Johnson received quite the shock when her gynecologist told her half of her cervix had been removed.
"I was devastated. I was crying. I was upset. I didn't know I had half a cervix because I kept having miscarriages," Johnson told News 3.
Johnson says her former gynecologist, Dr. Javaid Perwaiz, performed a surgery removing half of her cervix and she didn't realize it until she switched doctors. She says Perwaiz also told her she had cervical cancer.
"The money -- I guess he was money-hungry, so he did it," she said.
Javaid Perwaiz
After switching doctors, Johnson says there's no signs she had cancer and she's since given birth to a child.
"I think he should be prosecuted for what he did," she said. "He has to pay for what he did to everyone."
Perwaiz is in jail on federal charges and is accused of performing unnecessary surgeries on unsuspecting women for years.
Now, Johnson is one of 14 current or former patients taking legal action against Perwaiz. They're working with attorneys Steven L. Washington and Mario Stellute.
Another patient, Riika Wright, said Perwaiz performed two surgeries on her to remove cysts from her ovaries. She's questioning his actions.
"I don't know if it was even necessary -- if I even had a cyst to be removed - so now I'm getting everything checked again," she said.
A third patient News 3 spoke with didn't want to be identified. She says as she was trying to get pregnant, Perwaiz told her she needed surgeries. His third one left her severely bleeding.
"I lost half of the blood in my body," she said. "I was hospitalized for three days."
All of the patients were just listening to their doctor. With Perwaiz's arrest, they aren't sure what exactly he did to their bodies.
"I'm just disappointed because I put my trust in him, and to me it seems like it was just all about the money," the patient said.
The women say they either have new doctors or are in the process of getting re-evaluated.
