Leaving scissors in body after surgery not a new mistake, probe body says

A doctors' group probing an incident at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur, during which a pair of six-inch surgical scissors were left in a girl’s abdomen after surgery and stayed there for 21 months, has found that no one was specifically responsible for the error.

The incident is ‘not a new mistake’ and ‘more caution is needed’ said the probe report from the 3-member body led by the medical school and hospital’s Associate Professor Dr Kamrul Hasan to its Director Dr Saifur Rahman, reports bdnews24.com.

The report did not recommend any penalty for those involved either.

The other members of the probe committee were Associate Prof Dr Kaneez Fatema and Dr Md Kamruzzaman, both of whom are doctors at the hospital.

Surgery was performed on 18-year-old Monira Khatun on Mar 3 last year after she sought treatment from the hospital for a blood-clot problem in her abdomen.

She recently visited the hospital again due to regular pain. An X-ray of her abdomen showed that surgeons had left a pair of scissors in her body during the surgery.

She had another operation at the same hospital on Dec 11 to remove the scissors. The probe committee was formed to investigate the incident on Sunday.

The hospital’s director Dr Saifur said three to four other doctors led by Dr Molla Sharfuddin had performed the surgery last year, adding that:

 “The report does not specifically mention whose negligence caused the incident. Citing incidents from different journals across the world, the report stated that these are not rare occurrences. This is not the first time something like this has happened.”

The probe report had advised more caution during future surgeries, the director added.

Dr Saifur said that the patient, Monira, is recovering, but he is not certain how long she will need to remain in the hospital.