Thammasat Hospital sorry for leaving 2-metre gauze inside patient

Thammasat University Hospital issued a public apology on Tuesday to a patient after a doctor left a 2-metre-long piece of gauze in her vagina while treating her for cancer earlier this month.

In the statement, the hospital said it will take full responsibility for the patient’s rehabilitation and will put measures in place to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

The statement came one day after the popular Isor Khayi Khao (sister-in-law playing up news) Facebook page said in a post that a woman had developed a severe infection after a Thammasat doctor left a long piece of gauze inside her vagina after surgery.

The comment said that the woman learned there was a piece of gauze inside her when she coughed violently and it slipped out. The Facebook page quoted the woman as saying that the hospital had initially refused to treat her for the infection but relented when she threatened to tell the media. The report has gone viral since then.

On Tuesday, the hospital said the incident took place on June 4 when the woman was receiving radiation for cancer on her vaginal wall. The doctor in charge had put a piece of radiative mineral in the vagina and used gauze to keep it in place and soak up the seeping blood.

The hospital also claimed that it immediately treated the patient when she developed an infection and launched an urgent investigation into the case.

The hospital also insisted that the doctor had removed the bandage, but failed to check if it had been removed in its entirety. The statement said the doctor did not measure the length of the removed bandage, so did not realise that some of it was left inside.

In a bid to prevent such cases in the future, Thammasat Hospital has promised to put in place the following measures:

- All pieces of equipment and tools will be recorded before and after examinations and double-checked by a second officer. 

- The length of all bandages will be checked before and after examination and treatment.

- Only radiative bandage will be used in radiation treatments so it can be checked from outside.

The statement also explained that the patient had been initially refused treatment for the infection because the doctor in charge had inaccurately evaluated her rights and her case.

The statement said the hospital would re-educate officials in charge of evaluating the rights of patients.