Cotton allegedly left inside woman's abdomen after C-section at Government General hospital, inquiry on

Adilabad: A case of medical negligence has been reported at a Government General Hospital in Macherial where a cotton pad was allegedly left inside the abdomen of a pregnant woman after childbirth. 

The cotton pad that was kept to stop the bleeding was allegedly left inside her abdomen after she underwent a C-section delivery at the hospital. The family members of the patient alleged that they became aware of the incident after approaching a private hospital for emergency treatment.   

As per a media report in TNIE, the cotton pad was allegedly removed by the doctors at the private hospital after an X-ray revealed the presence of a cotton pad in the woman’s abdomen. 

It came to light that the doctors at the Mancherial hospital forgot to remove the cotton pad and as a result, the patient was suffering from severe stomachache and was unable to urinate after getting discharged from the hospital. 

Also read- Cotton Left Inside Patient's Abdomen During C-Section: Govt Doctor Suspended For Alleged Medical Negligence

The history of the incident goes back to August 22, when the 25-year-old pregnant woman, a resident of Neelwai village in Vemanpelli Mandal was admitted to the Mancherial hospital for delivery. She gave birth to a baby boy through caesarean surgery on August 23. After observing that her health condition was stable, she was discharged from the hospital on August 25.

However, her condition began to deteriorate the next day after she reached her home. The woman was in extreme pain and had difficulty performing basic work. Following this, the relatives took her to a private hospital where the cotton pad was removed through a small incision in her abdomen. She is currently stable.

Speaking to NewsMeter, GGH superintendent, Dr Harishchandra Reddy said, “It is a vaginal pack, which is a piece of gauze that is inserted into the vagina after surgery to help control bleeding and prevent infection. The pack should be removed after 2-3 hours of surgery. The nurse informed the family to get it removed from the ward. Unfortunately, she was not taken to the ward, and they left home.”

The superintendent further added, “I am not saying that there was no mistake; ideally, it should have been removed after 2-3 hours. However, due to congestion and a heavy workload, the nurse missed recording it. Some argue that doctors should have followed up on this, but it's important to note that the patient's family was well informed about this aspect."

Demanding action against the alleged medical negligence, the family members of the patient have filed a complaint against the doctors of the hospital.

"An enquiry has been called on the doctors and the hospital has been asked to submit a detailed report on the incident to the Director of Medical Education and Adilabad Collector," said Dr Reddy.

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