An Alexis retractor, or AWR, which can measure 17 centimeters (6 inches) in diameter, was left inside the mother’s body following the birth of her baby at Auckland City Hospital in 2020.
The AWR is a retractable cylindrical device with a translucent film used to draw back the edges of a wound during surgery.
The woman suffered months of chronic pain & went for several checkups to find out what was wrong, including X-rays that showed no sign of the device. The pain got so severe that she visited the hospital’s emergency department & the device was discovered on an abdominal CT scan & removed immediately in 2021.
New Zealand’s Health & Disability Commissioner, Morag McDowell, found Te Whatu Ora Auckland – the Auckland District Health Board – in breach of the code of patient rights, in a report released on Monday.
During the operation in 2020, a count of all surgical instruments used in the procedure did not include the AWR, the commission report found. This was possibly “due to the fact that the Alexis Retractor doesn’t go into the wound completely as half of the retractor needs to remain outside the patient & so it would not be at risk of being retained,” a nurse told the commission.
The case has also been referred to the director of proceedings, an official who will determine whether any further action should be taken.
“We would like to assure the public that incidents like these are extremely rare, and we remain confident in the quality of our surgical and maternity care,” read a statement from Te Toka Tumai Auckland
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Source: CNN
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