Woman Sues Doctor Who Left Rubber Glove Inside Her During Surgery

A French woman is suing a doctor after she reportedly "gave birth" to a latex glove and five compresses, which the surgeon allegedly "forgot" in her womb during an operation called endometrial-ablation, which is supposedly a less invasive process to stop menstruation than a hysterectomy, reports said Wednesday.

The 48-year-old woman, who has been kept anonymous, was operated on at a private clinic in Marseille, France, after doctors carried out the operation in a bid to stop heavy periods.

Endometrial ablation is a "procedure that surgically destroys (ablates) the lining of your uterus (endometrium). The goal of endometrial ablation is to reduce menstrual flow," according to Mayo Clinic. In some women, period flow might stop completely after the surgery.

Doctors told her after the operation, which took place last April, that "everything had gone well."

However, the woman complained that she soon suffered from excruciating pain, loss of sleep, was sick all the time and found it difficult to urinate.

"I had the feeling someone was stabbing me with a knife in the belly but I thought it was linked to the operation," she told Le Parisien, a French daily.

"I naturally talked about it with nurses and the surgeon. He told me that I was a lightweight and prescribed pain killers without conducting any extra examinations," she explained. The pain persisted after she went back home from the visit.

"After three days of atrocious pain in the lower stomach, I started having extremely strong contractions and finally expelled a glove and five compresses," she said.

The woman said the contractions lasted for four hours and left her "in a pool of blood."

The moment she realized the cause of her misery, she said she went straight back to the clinic to confront the surgeon who had conducted the operation on her.

"I was very, very scared, I was lost and exhausted. When we understood what it was, we went straight to the clinic," the woman recalled.

The victim said she was shocked at the surgeon’s allegedly insensitive reaction when he said: "If you're not happy, go ahead and contact my insurance company. I'm very well insured," according to the Telegraph.

"He instantly played down the seriousness of what I’d been through and placed the blame on the nurses saying he delegated a lot of things in the operating theater. He didn’t apologize, and told me he had broad shoulders and good insurance," she said.

After the painful incident, the woman suffered from chronic urinary tract infections, was unable to work for several months, and also requires psychological counseling.

She said she was most shocked and surprised at the surgeon’s attitude.

"He was very disdainful and took the whole thing with a pinch of salt. Everyone makes mistakes, but this attitude drove me to file a legal complaint," she said.

"Despite my suffering, I was lucky: I could have got septicemia and died. I wouldn't like it to happen to anyone else," the woman told Le Parisien.

The civil case is still ongoing.