Foreign Objects Left Inside Body Cavity
The performance of any surgical procedure, major or minor, is packed with pressure. The slight mishandling of a scalpel could cost a patient the use of a limb, for example. But despite these occupational stresses and the fast pace of an emergency or operating room, it is vital that preventable mistakes such as leaving foreign objects inside the body cavity do not occur.
If you have been a victim of a surgical tool left in the body, you are not alone. Foreign objects are left inside the body cavity with an alarming frequency. You may be entitled to pursue financial compensation through a civil lawsuit against a negligent surgeon, nurse, or other healthcare provider. Contact the Houston surgical mistakes lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 832-369-8296 to learn more about your legal rights in this situation.
Examples of Foreign Objects
Generally speaking, anything that is introduced into the body that is not part of the body itself constitutes a foreign object. Some medical devices, including pacemakers, are intended to be left within the body cavity, but often there are other items which should be removed before completion of a procedure. Examples of foreign objects which may be inadvertently left in a patient’s body include:
- Sponges or gauze used to slow or stop bleeding during a procedure
- Braces or retractors used to open the patient’s body cavity
- Surgical gloves
- Scalpels or other surgical tools
- Hand held lights used for illumination during a procedure
When object like these are left in the body, a patient is placed at risk for internal hemorrhaging, dangerous infections, and other complications. Our Houston surgical instrument left in body attorneys are committed to making sure doctors who commit this error are held accountable.
Contact Us
Let us help you to seek the financial compensation that you are properly due after such a horrific medical failure. Contact the Houston surgical error attorneys of Williams Kherkher at 832-369-8296.