Probe ordered after gauze found inside woman's abdomen after c-section

Ghaziabad: A probe has been ordered by health authorities after a man alleged that a medical gauze cloth the size of a towel was left inside his wife's abdomen during a c-section at a private nursing home in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad. The woman's husband has accused the gynaecologist of withholding information about his wife’s condition and obstructing timely treatment.

For nearly a month and a half, a medical gauze cloth the size of a towel remained inside the body of a Ghaziabad resident following her cesarean delivery, causing severe pain to the woman, who did not have a clue about the foreign object's presence inside her body.

The gauze was detected a month after Divya Khurana was discharged following the delivery, after weeks of high fever and pain, prompting doctors to carry out a string of tests.

The woman's husband has accused the gynaecologist of keeping them in the dark about the nature of the problem, obstructing remedial surgery at another hospital, and the pathologist she referred to of not providing his wife's reports.

The chief medical officer of Ghaziabad told PTI that a three-member team, which included a gynaecologist, has been constituted to probe the matter.

The gynaecologist has refuted the couple's claims as "baseless", saying she will cooperate with the probe.

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According to Khurana's husband, Chirag Katari, on July 10, the foreign object was detected, and it was removed on July 11 during a surgery, which lasted for nearly three hours at a private hospital in Delhi's Patparganj area.

Recalling the sequence of events, Kataria, who is a scientist in a private firm, on Monday told PTI, "Cesarean delivery of my wife took place in a private nursing home in Ghaziabad run by the gynaecologist and her husband. My wife's C-section took place on June 6, and a boy was born. She was discharged from the nursing home on June 9."

He said after this, she had a fever of 102 degrees for 15 days, and so was administered drips of antibiotic medicines for 7-8 days. This was followed by bouts of terrible headache and severe chest pain, Kataria added.

"After this, she experienced severe stomach pain, and she fainted once, which prompted me to suspect that something was wrong. Due to the medication, the child also could not get his mother's milk owing to the huge dose of antibiotics," he said.

Seeing the weak medical health of his wife, Kataria said that he consulted the gynaecologist, who recommended a complete blood test.

"In the test report, the TLC (total leukocyte count, which shows the number of white blood cells in the blood) stood at 18,000 as compared to a normal count of 8,000. On July 10, when she (the doctor) saw the reports, she also got scared.

"She then told me to go for an ultrasound test of the abdomen at a private pathology," Kataria said.

The pathology lab conducted the ultrasound test and then asked for an X-ray test, and subsequently a scan.

"I gradually started feeling afraid and thought, why is the matter escalating?" he said.

Kataria's fears worsened, seeing the urgency with which the pathology lab carried out the CT-scan. He said an existing patient's test was stopped midway, and his wife's CT-scan was conducted.

He further said that when he asked the pathology lab to give him the reports, they refused and told him to first consult the gynaecologist.

"When I reached the doctor's clinic, she was adamant about conducting a surgery. When I said that your nursing home is not equipped to conduct surgery, she said that she will remove the pus-like material using a syringe," he said.

Kataria said he wanted a second opinion, but the doctor allegedly said there was no need for it and that his wife was "like a sister".

Kataria also claimed that the pathologist tried every trick in the book to not give the report to him and relented only when he threatened to involve the police.

He then took the appointment of another Ghaziabad-based doctor but claimed that by the time he reached her clinic, the gynaecologist had already called her "to not entertain" him.

"My fears intensified. I asked the second doctor whether my wife needs to be admitted. She said that my wife must be admitted that very night itself, and there was no guarantee (of her being alive) the next day," Kataria said.

"I realised that I have to admit my wife to a hospital in Delhi, and on the night of July 10, I took my wife and admitted her to a hospital in Patparganj (Delhi). Here, all tests were conducted on the night of July 10 itself. They could clearly see a foreign body in the tests," he said.

Kataria said a surgery was planned for the next day (July 11).

"After the surgery, which lasted for around 3 hours, a medical gauze, the size of a towel, was retrieved from inside my wife's body. Since that piece of cloth was inside her body for one-and-a-half months, it was attached to the ovary and other parts of the body," he claimed.

Khurana was finally discharged on July 14, he said.

Kataria said he has been getting calls from people saying that they are influential people, and they dissuaded him from fighting them as it would be a long battle.

"On July 16, I lodged a complaint with the chief medical officer. On July 17, I lodged a police complaint. Initially, the CMO assured me that he will take action against the doctor, but later he backtracked. A DCP-ranked officer, after five days, also said that an FIR be registered in the case, and issued instructions to the police station.

When the copy of the complaint reached the CMO, he alleged "the CMO made a U-turn", saying his wife has not died while others have lost their wives and that their complaints are still pending for the past six months.

"The CMO said that he wants to give one chance to the doctor," Kataria said.

When contacted, Ghaziabad Chief Medical Officer Dr Akhilesh Mohan on Monday told PTI, "A three-member team, which includes a gynaecologist, has been constituted to probe the matter. I have written a letter to the nursing home, where the treatment (cesarean delivery) was done. As soon as I get the letter, action will be taken."

The doctor said she had received a letter from the CMO on the matter 3-4 days ago and that she has given her reply.

"I feel that the person (Chirag Kataria) is speaking baseless things. The patient went from here in a proper condition. And (later), I told her that there is some pus in her stomach, and she should be admitted, so that treatment can be done after carrying out tests," she told PTI.

"They did not come to me. And, now after one and a half months, I am getting this letter from the CMO. I will fully cooperate in the probe," she added.

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