In a shocking incident of doctors negligence, an instrument, used to hold open surgical wounds, was left inside the abdomen of a woman in New Zealand for 18 months after she underwent a cesarean section at a hospital. According to media reports the woman is said to have suffered severe pain for 18 months as the retractor which is the size of a dinner plate was stuck inside her for 18 months and was only found during a CT scan.Health Commissioner speaks upHealth and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell commented on the incident and said “It is self-evident that the care provided fell below the appropriate standard because the [retractor] was not identified during any routine surgical checks, resulting in it being left inside the womans abdomen.”She further added about the incompetence of the staff and said “Staff involved have no explanation for how the retractor ended up in the abdominal cavity, or why it was not identified prior to closure.”Details on this surgical instrument The instrument stuck is called an Alexis wound protector-retractor which is widely used in surgical procedures.According to the Commissioners reports, a team of surgeons had recently replaced the first Alexis wound retractor with a larger one, but the second retractor was inadvertently left in the womans abdomen.It was impossible to find the instrument through X-ray and was only found through a CT scan, reports suggest. It was difficult to find through X-ray since the instrument is a “non-radiopaque item”The Commissioners report also states that this is a second incident where a medical device was left inside a patient at an Auckland hospital.
