Woman Dies After Doctors Accidentally Leave Cotton Swab Inside Her Abdomen During Botched C-Section

In an extreme case of medical negligence, a woman in India died Tuesday after doctors accidentally left a piece of cotton inside her body during a cesarean section performed 18 months ago.

Chintala Mamatha, 20, from the southern state of Telangana, died following a year-long battle with infection caused by the material that remained undetected inside her abdomen. She had delivered her second child, a stillborn, days before she died, media outlet News 18 reported.

Mamatha delivered a healthy baby girl via cesarean section at a hospital in the town of Bhongir last year. However, the doctors who attended to her accidentally left a cotton swab inside her body. Since then, Mamatha had been complaining of stomach pain. Though she consulted many doctors, none of them diagnosed the cause of her agony.

Amid her illness, she fell pregnant for the second time. But, her condition began to worsen after the pregnancy. On Sept. 18, she began experiencing intense pain, following which her relatives rushed her to another hospital in the city of Secunderabad. On the way, Mamatha delivered a stillborn baby in her sixth month.

She was immediately admitted to a private hospital, where the doctors conducted tests. An ultrasound showed the surgical cotton left behind in the stomach, which has been causing infection and pain.

Doctors said the woman's intestines suffered severe damage due to the cotton wad. Though the doctors removed the cotton by conducting surgery, their efforts went in vain.

The victim's agitated relatives have launched a protest seeking action against the hospital, where the cesarean section was performed for medical negligence. Reports said no charges has been filed yet in connection with her death.

In a similar incident, a woman ended up on life support after a doctor allegedly left a piece of gauze inside her body during a cesarean section operation. The woman began experiencing pain in her abdomen immediately after her c-section. Though she took medication and met several doctors, her condition did not improve. It was then she and her husband approached a private hospital, where she underwent a CT scan, which revealed a piece of gauze inside her body.