Oops! Foot-Long Surgical Tool Left in Woman's Abdomen

Employees at a hospital in the Czech Republic are being disciplined after a surgical instrument measuring approximately 1-foot long was discovered in the abdomen of a woman who had surgery five months ago.

Zdenka Kopeckova, 66, complained more than once about severe abdominal pain following a gynecological procedure at a hospital in the southeastern town of Ivancice.

“I said that nobody helps me and I cannot live like this till the end of my life. I’ll get pills, have a glass of an alcohol and hang myself,” she said after the massive instrument was found one week ago and removed successfully.

Kopeckova is seeking financial compensation over the screw-up, claiming that the hospital initially tried to cover up the incident by claiming there was nothing they could do but give her pain pills.

“I told the head surgeon that if I had no pain I would not be complaining. I’m not a hypochondriac,” she said. She also had requested an x-ray but staff told her it this would expose her to radiation unnecessarily.

Clinic head Jaromir Hrubes blamed “a series of individual failures” and said four employees had been punished.

“The medical procedures at Ivancice seem perfect at the first sight, there is documentation and list of instruments used, but the person who did the evaluation did not report the missing object,” said Hrubes.