Rayagada: The doctors at the Rayagada district headquarters hospital (DHH) left a cotton swab in a woman's abdomen during an operation, following which the woman's family had to spend lakhs of rupees to remove it through surgery, claimed the victim's family. They said the incident has made the victim undergo tremendous mental trauma and pain while the negligence by the doctors cost the family heavily.
Consequently, the family lodged a complaint against the authorities of the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) at the Rayagada police station on Tuesday. According to the complaint, Kanchan Halaba, a resident of Biriguda village under Laxmipur police limits in Koraput district had been admitted to the Rayagada DHH for delivery in the gynecology ward and discharged five days later.
The complaint stated that Kanchan started feeling pain in her abdomen after a few days of her discharge from the hospital following which when the pain didn’t subside, her family members took her to the Rayagada DHH once again. “They told us she’s perfectly alright,” the family alleged.
The family further mentioned that her pain, however, persisted and became unbearable with each passing day thus they were left with no option and took her to the hospital again. The victim's family said that the doctors conducted an ultrasound test that detected a cotton swab inside her abdomen.
Kanchan’s husband said, "The lives of Kanchan were more important than the money that was required for her immediate operation thus we got our lands and gold ornaments were pledged to raise the amount." The family took Kanchan to a hospital in Visakhapatnam where the cotton swab was successfully removed.
When contacted, the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Rayagada DHH Lalmohan Routray said he has already directed a probe into the incident. “Stringent action would be taken against those found guilty,” he said.
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