Suranaree University of Technology Hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima apologised to a Thai woman after two pieces of gauze were left inside her vagina following a medical procedure.
The 35 year old woman shared details of the incident with Thai news agencies, saying she had visited the hospital for cancer screening. A doctor collected a tissue sample from her cervix for further diagnosis.
The doctor then placed gauze inside her vagina to stop bleeding, and the woman was required to remain at the hospital for monitoring. On August 22, when she was due to be discharged, the doctor removed one piece of gauze.
The woman said she returned home and later received a call from the hospital that afternoon informing her that another piece of gauze remained inside her. She was asked to return to the hospital on August 23 for its removal.
When she arrived as instructed, medical staff told her that the doctor was busy performing emergency surgery, which was expected to take three to four hours. She was asked to return the following day.
The woman returned on August 24 but said she still did not receive treatment. She waited for around 30 minutes and claimed that no medical professional approached her to explain what would happen next.
She then decided to have the gauze removed at another hospital. However, she experienced heavy bleeding following its removal and was transferred back to Suranaree University of Technology Hospital for further treatment.
The woman said she received treatment until her condition improved but continued to experience vaginal bleeding. She also said she had not received an apology from the doctor who initially treated her and left the gauze inside her.
The hospital issued an official statement on its Facebook page yesterday, August 31, apologising to the patient and explaining the incident.
According to the statement, the two pieces of gauze were a tampon and a Vaseline gauze. The hospital acknowledged that the doctor removed only one piece before the patient was discharged and that staff later discovered another piece remained inside her.
The hospital said its medical team called the patient’s name at around 9am on August 24, but no one responded. Staff later learned that she had gone to another hospital to have the gauze removed after being admitted there with vaginal bleeding.
The hospital said another doctor and medical team subsequently took responsibility for her treatment. The doctor who initially treated the woman had been assigned to perform another emergency operation at the time. The hospital also emphasised that the patient’s treatment was provided free of charge.
At the end of its statement, the hospital said the doctor who initially treated the woman and other medical professionals were sorry about what happened. It said measures would be implemented to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.
The report did not state whether the woman plans to take legal action against the hospital or seek compensation.
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