A doctor allegedly left a surgical mop in a woman's stomach during a caesarean section delivery at a hospital in Karnataka's Puttur.
Gagandeep Singh, who says he is a trader, said his wife underwent a C-section at a private hospital in November last year and was discharged on December 2. In a detailed post on X, he claimed that a week later, she developed a high fever of 104 for almost four days and was given tablets by the same doctor.
When the pain persisted, particularly in one side of the stomach, they decided to get a CT scan, which showed a 10 cm mass, he said.
"Dr Anil S, Puttur City Hospital has made a C-Section for my wife on 27-11-2024 and discharged on 2-12-2024. But after one week, she got a high fever for 3-4 days and immediately approached the above doctor and hospital, he gave some tablets," he said.
He said when they revisited him, he allegedly refused to talk to them and dismissed their concern saying it was a hematoma (blood clot) and not a foreign body. The doctor assured them it would get dissolved in some time.
In the next few days, Mr Singh said her wife faced acute joint, wrist, and leg pain, adding she couldn't walk, stand, or lift her baby to feed. She struggled to perform simple tasks like turning on a tap, he said.
They sought help from the doctor again. He allegedly refused to treat her and instead advised them to consult an orthopedist. It was only then that they discovered the surgical mop inside her.
Mr Singh said they immediately went for surgery, but by then, the infection had spread to her lungs, blood, and other organs, putting her life at risk. He also alleged that when they confronted Dr Anil S, he refused to compensate them.
She was operated on January 25 and was discharged on February 15.
"I'm a small farmer, I lost my crops because I could not irrigate the fields in this peak summer time. We suffered from mental agony, stress, and physical pains and lost all trust in the hospital and its doctors. How can one even put a value to the infant's loss of access to breastmilk?" he asked.
"We have undergone tremendous stress. We have posted the issue on the National Consumer Grievance portal and the Department of Consumer Affairs. We have spent lakhs of rupees on treatment and has also lost his crops by not being able to irrigate them" Mr Singh added.
The doctor's medical negligence left people angry and upset on social media. A user also claimed that Dr Anil S has a bad track record and urged Mr Singh to amplify the matter strongly.
One of the users wrote, "Medical is highly mismanaged in our country in terms of quality and patient rights."
Another commented, "Yes, NCH is a big joke. You will never be able to even register on it, and the question of uploading documents doesn't arise."
This was not the first time such an incident came to light. Earlier, a doctor from UP's Aligarh allegedly left a towel inside the stomach of a woman after conducting her delivery at Saifee Nursing Home.
