Doctor Accidentally Leaves Gauze Inside Woman's Body During C-Section, Patient Battles For Life

In a shocking incident of medical negligence, a woman in India has ended up on life support after a doctor allegedly left a piece of gauze inside her body during a cesarean section operation.

A complaint was filed by the victim's husband, Manoj, against a government hospital in the state of Uttar Pradesh, reported NDTV. According to the complaint, Manoj's wife, who is in her 30s, underwent a cesarean section procedure at the Government Medical College in the town of Shahjahanpur on Jan. 6, and gave birth to a healthy baby girl, following which she returned home soon.

But, even after months, the woman continued to experience pain in her abdomen. Though she took medication and met several doctors, her condition did not improve. It was then the couple approached a private hospital, where she underwent a CT scan, which revealed a piece of gauze inside her body.

Surgery was performed to remove the material, but the woman's health continued to dwindle. She was then transferred to the King George Medical University in the city of Lucknow. The unidentified woman was in the trauma center and was battling for her life, the complaint said.

"Her condition is critical. She has been kept on ventilator support," the woman's father Radheshyam told NDTV.

After the complaint was filed, the authorities of the government medical college, where the C-section was performed, sprung into action, and formed an inquiry committee headed by two doctors, News18 reported. Authorities have promised legal action against the doctor who conducted the surgery if the allegations are true.

In a similar case reported from the Indian city of Srinagar, a woman, who went in for a gallbladder removal surgery last month, had her uterus removed instead. In a complaint, the woman alleged she was diagnosed with a 6-mm polyp on her gallbladder, following which doctors advised her surgery. However, an ultrasound post-surgery showed that her uterus was missing. The scan also revealed the polyp was too small to require removal of the gallbladder. The woman's family has filed a complaint with the police against a private hospital for medical negligence.