Woman Claims Surgeon Left Sponge Inside Her Womb for 17 Months After Botched Operation
Over the past several decades, surgery has become exponentially safer.
But for one woman from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, her surgery unfolded in a much different manner. According to South West News Service, 47-year-old Dawn White had her womb removed following a cancer diagnosis in 2017.
The hysterectomy went well enough, yet White didn’t recover. She continued to feel unwell and eventually her kidneys started struggling.
Doctors left toxic sponge in woman’s womb for 17 months after surgery
Dawn White, 47, says her Christmas is on hold following the hysterectomy procedure at the NHS Braford Royal Infirmary
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“After the operation, everything got worse and worse,” she said. “I was annoyed because it has taken them nearly 18 months to get sorted and I’m still in hospital now.”
Why did White land in the hospital again? Well, doctors found the reason for her pains, and it was all due to an ugly mistake.
Sometime during the original procedure, surgeons had used a surgical sponge. But when they were finished, the sponge stayed inside her.
For 17 terrible months, that piece of medical equipment had remained inside White’s body, its chemical composition damaging her internally and causing incredible discomfort.
“This is a hospital for human beings, and it serves the whole of Bradford, so they should have been on the ball,” White’s husband, Andrew, said. “This has dragged on and on, but now we know there was a sponge inside her and her body was attacking it.
“Now the doctors have said her kidneys are starting to stop working because of the toxins in her body from the sponge. I wouldn’t have wished this on my worst enemy because it’s not nice.”
For her part, White has said that she would like to be compensated by the Bradford Royal Infirmary, which is where she had the procedure done. “It’s disgusting what I have gone through and now Christmas is on hold because I might be in here,” she said.
Andrew added that admitting to the problem would also help both of them. “Someone needs to own up and say sorry. According to a surgeon, they found a sponge in her womb but my argument is how has it got in there?
“If someone had come to me and held their hands up, then fine. But leaving her that long with something inside her is unbelievable.
“She is still in hospital and wants answers. We want someone to hold their hands up and say ‘yes, we made a mistake.'”
They may indeed get just that. The couple was scheduled to meet with Professor Clive Kay, chief executive of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who they hope will help them get the answers they deserve.
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