A six-inch-long surgical instrument was removed from the abdomen of an Ayeyawady Region man last month, and the now his family are calling on the Myanmar government to investigate the doctor who allegedly left the object there.
“I sent the letter to both the Union and regional [governments] over a month ago. We enclosed a letter with all [of my father’s] surgical records, but we have yet to hear of any investigation,” the patient’s son, Shine Htet Aung, told Eleven.
The tool was found in the patient’s body on Aug. 20, when he underwent another surgical procedure at Hinthada People’s Hospital in Ayeyawady Region. He had reportedly endured severe pain in his abdomen the entire time the object was inside him.
“My father’s health is in very poor condition. We also have financial difficulties. I had to quit my job. Authorities have done nothing. We feel sorry that no members of parliament bothered coming to see us. We suffered for a very long time,” Shine Htet Aung said.
He added that he approached the doctor who allegedly left the object inside his father’s body, but the doctor would not accept responsibility for the error.
“Openly speaking, I saved his life at that time. Without a surgical operation, he would have died. No one would do that recklessly,” said Dr. Oo Oo Han.
The doctor went on to say that some of the blame belongs to the nurses who worked on the surgery 26 years ago because it is their responsibility to count the surgical instruments. He also blamed the conditions he was working under.
“At that time, doctors had to struggle. If the light went out, they had to perform operations under a torch light. Transportation was very poor at that time.”
Even with all of those excuses, Dr. Oo Oo Han refused to concede that he had anything to do with the case, saying: “I don’t know who performed that operation. They say that I did it.”
