A surgeon allegedly left 16 items in the body of a German man who had prostate cancer. The man has since died and the family is suing for $120,000 in compensation.
Dirk Schroeder, 74, underwent surgery to relieve pain caused by his prostate cancer but he was left in even worse pain after the routine procedure in 2009. A few months later, a nurse came to visit him to inspect his wounds and she was shocked by what she found.
The nurse noticed a gauze pad poking out of one of Schroeder's wounds and that was just the beginning of it. He had to have two more surgeries because he had 16 different items in his body including a roll of bandage, swabs, part of a surgical mask and even a needle, according to the Daily Mail.
Schroeder got through the surgeries but he died in 2012 after his cancer spread, even though he was given six years to live.
The man's family is now suing the hospital for over $120,000.
"Such an extent of foreign objects left inside a patient is unique in medical literature," family lawyer and medical expert Annette Corinth said according to the Daily Mail.
The hospital denies that the items that were found in his body were left during the prostate surgery. They claim the items entered his body after the surgery, but they didn't give any explanation as to how he could have ingested the items, including the needle.
"I hope the hospital will settle but otherwise the family are prepared to go all the way and sue in court," Corinth said. "The family of the deceased spent lots of money on care, medicines and reconstruction of their home to look after this man."
"There has been gross negligence here which most probably had led to complications and possibly a quicker death."
Medical tools left in bodies after surgery is not unheard of, but 16 items was a first.
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