Surgical instrument found in Kerala woman’s abdomen 5 years after surgery

Kerala’s Health Minister Veena George has ordered an inquiry into the startling discovery of an artery forceps in the abdomen of a woman who underwent surgery at the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, in 2021.

The patient, Usha Joseph, had undergone surgery for uterine fibroid removal at the hospital. Her son, Shibin, told reporters that she developed discomfort and experienced bouts of abdominal pain. She approached the hospital several times, but the doctors were allegedly dismissive and failed to identify the source of her discomfort.

Mr Shibin said his mother recently consulted another doctor for abdominal pain. He told her it could be a kidney stone and asked her to undergo an X-ray examination. The examination report revealed the surgical instrument. 

When confronted, the MCH doctors agreed to remove the forceps. However, the family declined and shifted Ms Joseph to a private hospital in Ernakulam. Mr Shibin alleged that the MCH authorities dared him to file a medical negligence complaint and turned down his request for compensation. 

The family also raised allegations against Dr. Lalithambika, a surgeon who retired recently from the hospital. Mr Shibin said he had visited the doctor privately several times but to no avail.

Dr. Lalithambika denied the charges. She said the surgery was slated during her superannuation period. “I was not doing major surgeries at the fag end of my service, though I was the unit chief. Moreover, the surgery happened during the COVID period, when I was saddled with other duties,” she said.

Dr. Lalithambika denied that she had entertained the patient at her house or accepted any backhanders for remedying her condition. She also blamed the staff nurse for maintaining proper records of surgical accessories used during an operation and for auditing them after the procedure. Dr. Lalithambika claimed that surgical devices left in the body during surgery do no harm for decades.

Minister refutes charges

Ms George dismissed Ms Lalithambika’s statement. “The doctor cannot absolve herself of the responsibility. She remembers the surgery but does not own up to the fact that the procedure was conducted under her watch”. 

Ms George said a board of government doctors would soon arrive at the private hospital where Ms Joseph was awaiting surgery. They would extend their enquiry to the MCH. Ms George said the incident was “a clear case of criminal negligence”, and that a police enquiry was inevitable.

Moreover, MCH doctors receive an allowance for not seeing patients privately, and the doctor appeared to have violated the service rule, Ms George said. She also stated that the government did not rule out an anti-corruption probe. 

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal, who represents Alappuzha in the Parliament, told reporters in Delhi that the incident reflected the poor state of affairs in the public health sector in Kerala. “Ordinary citizens are the victims of the Health Department’s systemic failures”, he said.