3 months after op, forceps found in woman’s abdomen

HYDERABAD: A woman in Hyderabad went through excruciating pain for three months before an x-ray revealed a pair of surgical forceps in her abdomen that doctors forgot to remove after a surgery in November.

The mistake came to light when the patient — Maheshwari Chowdary (33) of Mangalhat area in Hyderabad, returned to the same hospital — Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), a prestigious state-run hospital in Hyderabad, on Friday with severe stomach pain.

An X-ray of her abdomen revealed that a pair of artery forceps (a scissors-like instrument used by surgeons to remove tissues and hold internal parts during surgery), was firmly embedded in her stomach.

Accusing the doctors of their criminal negligence in conducting surgeries, relatives of the patient on Saturday staged a dharna in front of the hospital and demanded action against the surgeons who botched up the surgery. The doctors pacified them saying they would conduct another surgery by evening to remove the instrument from the abdomen.

Director of NIMS Dr K Manohar said Maheswari was admitted with severe abdominal pain on October 28 and had undergone a surgery for hernia in the first week of November. She was discharged on November 12.