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Kerala: Forceps left inside woman's stomach taken out after 5 years, health minister orders probe
Harshina said after her third caesarean in November 2017, which she underwent at the Kozhikode Medical College, she began experiencing “unbearable pain”. A CT scan by doctors of a private hospital later revealed a metal object in her stomach that caused her urinary infection.
A probe was ordered by the Kerala health minister Veena George on Saturday after a woman named Harshina in Kozhikode registered a complaint against doctors for having left forceps inside her body while performing a caesarean on her five years before. George also asked the Kerala health secretary to submit a report soon, news agency PTI reported.
“Stern action will be taken against those who are responsible,” the minister was quoted as saying.
Forceps are scissor-like equipment used by surgeons to clamp bleeding vessels
In November 2017, Harshina had undergone her third caesarean at the Kozhikode Medical College. The first two were done in private hospitals, and Harshina said that following the third caesarean, she began feeling “severe pain”.
“I thought either I had kidney stones or some sort of cancer,” she told reporters.
The pain though reduced with strong antibiotics; it became unbearable for the last six months as she suffered from urinary infection.
A CT scan by doctors of a private hospital later revealed that there was a metal object in her stomach that was poking at her urinary bladder and resulting in the infection.
Harshina approached the Kozhikode Medical College herself, and on September 17, doctors finally removed a ‘mosquito artery forceps’ from her body.
Meanwhile, besides the Kerala government, the medical college itself has ordered an inquiry into the incident, the PTI report added.
The medical college's principal Dr EV Gopi told PTI that preliminary probe into the matter, which was initiated by them, revealed that none of their “surgical equipment was missing”.
“The woman has had two surgeries in private hospitals before coming to medical college,” the principal was quoted as saying.
Harshina was discharged a few days after the forcep removal surgery was done on her. Following it, she approached George and the medical college, and lodged a complaint pertaining to the matter.
