Tags:
Journalism of Courage
December 18: When Bankelal Gon 38 was admitted to Sion Hospital after an accident, he hadn8217;t the slightest suspicion that the doctors would leave him a souvenir. Gon, who was hit by a dumper truck at Indira Nagar, Antop Hill, on December 10, died on the operating table. But it wasn8217;t till the autopsy was performed two days later that doctors realised that a malleable retractor8217; was accidentally left behind in his abdominal cavity.
He was admitted to the hospital8217;s trauma care unit for an emergency operation immediately after the accident. Since he was in serious condition, the surgeons decided to perform an exploratory laprotomy8217;, where the abdomen is opened to stop the internal bleeding.
However, the patient had suffered serious injuries and died on the operation table, doctors say. The body was then shifted to the mortuary and an autopsy was performed on December 12 by Dr Smita Chaudhari of the Pathology Department. It was then that the retractor, which measures 12inches x 2inches, was discovered in the patient8217;s intestinal folds. The instrument is used to hold the intestines in place while the surgeon tries to reach another part of the abdominal cavity.
Dr Meena Kumar, professor of surgery, Sion Hospital, and head of the trauma care unit, says she was not aware that the instrument had been left behind. However, she says, the patient was in serious condition and died on the operation table.
