Mumbai: Doctors take baby out, leave mop inside woman's stomach

The patient and her husband Ramanujan Vishwakarma (right) are yet to file an official complaint against the doctor and civic hospital

Renu Vishwakarma, who delivered her second daughter last month, hasn't yet held her baby even once. Reason: Doctors from the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation hospital who conducted a Caesarean section surgery on her, left a mop inside her stomach. This caused her a severe stomach infection and she was immediately admitted into Nair hospital's ICU where she is still undergoing treatment.

On October 28, after Renu developed labour pain, she was rushed to a Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation hospital in Vijay Nagar, Nalasopara. Owing to some medical complications, the doctors performed a C-section on her immediately but accidentally left a surgical mop, the size of a normal handkerchief, in her stomach. Within hours, she turned blue owing to infections and was referred to a tertiary-level hospital. On October 30, the 30-year-old was transferred to Nair hospital where she was admitted into the ICU.

"Her condition was extremely serious and she had developed such infection in her stomach that it had swollen completely. Doctors conducted several tests but couldn't find the reason for her deteriorating health condition. A CT scan later showed a mop in her stomach which was immediately removed through a surgery," said Renu's husband Ramanujan Vishwakarma, who works as a carpenter in Nalasopara.

According to the medical reports, "patient Renu Vishwakarma was operated (exploratory laparotomy) on 6/11/2018 at Nair hospital and a mop was retrieved...(sic)". The report, undersigned by Dr Arundhati Tilve asks the concerned police station to collect the evidence.

However, the family is yet to file an official complaint with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) regarding the alleged negligence. Meanwhile, the new-born child is still kept away from her mother. "I haven't even seen my child yet. She is with my sister-in-law in Borivali. I can't even feed my child who is surviving on commercial milk," said the aggrieved mother, who is likely to be discharged within a week.

Dr Rajesh Chauhan, health officer of the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation, said that he would investigate the matter. "I haven't received any official complaint letter yet but will certainly look into it." Medical council rules regarding medical negligence state that the concerned doctors may even lose their licence to practice. Dr Shivkumar Utture, president of MMC, said, "Such kind of negligence is not accepted and if they have all the evidence, they can file an official case with us and we would certainly look into it."

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