Three patients in St. Thomas, Ont., have launched lawsuits after learning that a doctor who had performed surgery on them had come under investigation by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The problem, say the women, is they didn't know this before undergoing their surgeries and that they should have been told about this before they went under the knife.

Lorraine Kinninmont is one of those who is suing. Before 2009, she was an avid motorcycle rider and travel lover. But after undergoing a hysterectomy at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, she says all that has changed.

The hysterectomy ended with serious complications.

"I was in excruciating amount of pain that I didn't expect," she remembers.

Kinninmont alleges her bowel was perforated during the hysterectomy surgery. She required further surgery to remove part of her colon.

"I ended up very sick, almost dying. I was in hospital for over three weeks," she says.

What Kinninmont didn't know at the time of her surgery was that her surgeon, obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Cathy Frank, had been placed under restrictions by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in early 2009 .

Those restrictions required Frank to "undergo a comprehensive practice assessment" and to engage in the practice of medicine under "supervision."

"Had I known more about that, I would not have gone to Dr. Frank for any of these treatments," Kinninmont says.

Now she and two other women with similar stories have filed suit against Dr. Frank and the St. Thomas hospital. They allege in their claims that Dr. Frank had a "high surgical complication rate," and that there had been previous "concerns raised about the quality of care."

Barbara Legate, of Legate and Associates, the law firm representing all the women, says patients were never told about Dr. Frank's status, but should have been.

"We are alleging that some of the surgeries were completely unnecessary. We are alleging that there are people who had a duty to warn the patients and did not," she says.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Legate say about 70 other women have come forward with complaints about Dr. Frank since the lawsuits were filed.

Dr. Frank and her lawyer declined to comment on the case to CTV News. In a statement sent to CTV News, the hospital said the cases involved in the lawsuit "are very specific to interactions between Dr. Frank and the patients involved."

"At STEGH we are dedicated to protecting the safety of every patient and we are sincerely sorry for the negative outcomes experienced by these women," the hospital said.

Their statement to CTV News also indicated that after the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario imposed license restrictions on Dr. Frank in early 2009, she underwent a comprehensive review.

"The hospital co-operated fully in this review and simultaneously STEGH assigned a practice monitor to oversee Dr. Frank's hospital care," the hospital said.

"While awaiting recommendations from the College, the hospital determined that it was in the best interests of our patients to bring in an independent reviewer for their expert opinion. During the course of this investigation, Dr. Frank resigned in May 2010 and since then has not worked at STEGH. We notified the College of Physicians and Surgeons immediately upon the receipt of her resignation."

As of September 14, 2011, Dr. Frank is no longer allowed by the College to perform obstetrical or gynecological surgery, "unless she is doing so as part of a Remediation Program pre-approved by the College and is supervised..." Dr. Frank is still permitted to conduct various fertility procedures as part of her IVF practice.

But her case is raising the question: do patients know all they should about their doctors?

With a report from CTV medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip