Doctors leave surgical gauze inside woman's stomach after c-section

In a case of sheer negligence, doctors who operated upon a pregnant woman in Faridpur have forgotten to take out surgical gauzes from her abdomen.

Doctors at the Safa Makkah Hospital decided to perform the caesarean section when the 26-year-old Farida Begum from Saltha Upazila’s Rasulpur village suffered labour pains. She gave birth to a baby girl. Three days later, she was released from the hospital.

At the end of the operation, however, the dressing was left in. It was only discovered three days later when the patient visited the Happy Hospital in Pashchim Khabaspur.

The sponge was finally removed during another surgical procedure on May 25.

"We removed a piece of gauze-bandage measuring a few inches from her abdomen at 9pm on Thursday” said doctor Swapan Kumar Biswas of the hospital.

“The condition of the patient was very critical. After the caesarean section, the patient’s abdomen was sewn leaving the gauze insider her stomach.  She is now free of danger. ”

The relatives of the patient have alleged that Dr Shyamal Kumar Biswas of the Safa Makkah Hospital had sewn the abdomen after performing the operation.

When asked, Dr Shyamal Biswas said he could not remember whether he had performed the cesarean section on the woman.

"It is not possible for me to say anything without checking the papers," he maintained.

Her husband Masud Sheikh has claimed compensation and medical expenses. He also demanded that the relevant authorities bring the guilty physician and the clinic owner to justice.