Surgical instrument left in patient discovered after five months

Czech medical staff will be disciplined after a foot-long surgical instrument was found in the abdomen of a woman five months after she was operated on. The patient, 66-year-old Zdenka Kopeckova, repeatedly complained of severe abdominal pain following a gynaecological operation at a hospital in the south eastern town of Ivancice. She said: '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 alcohol and hang myself.'

The spatula-like instrument was discovered in her body a week ago and successfully removed.
Mrs Kopeckova is seeking compensation over the blunder, claiming staff initially tried to cover up the mistake by saying there was nothing they could do but recommend pain killers.
She said: 'I told the head surgeon that if I had no pain I would not be complaining. I'm not a hypochondriac.'

She added that when she requested an x-ray, she was told it would needlessly expose her to radiation. Jaromir Hrubes, Ivancice hospital director, said strict operation procedures should have been followed by medical staff.

An unnamed hospital official said those involved in the operation would be disciplined.
Mr Hrubes said: 'The medical procedures at Ivancice seem perfect at the first sight, there is documentation and a list of instruments used, but the person who did the evaluation did not report the missing object.'