According to Ninesmsn on Wednesday, Dirk Schroeder had an operation for prostate cancer in 2009. The operation went fine except for the fact that one of the surgeons left 16 items inside of his body.
The family of Dirk Schroeder, who died in Germany after surgeons left 16 different items inside his body during an operation are seeking £80,000 (about $120,000) compensation from hospital authorities.
Schroeder had reportedly undergone a "routine surgery" for prostate cancer. The operation was believed to have gone well and Schroeder was told that he had at least "another six years" to live.
The discovery was made a few months after the surgery when Schroeder called a nurse out to his home because he was feeling pain. The nurse discovered that a piece of gauze was protruding from one of his wounds.
Surgeons later removed 16 items of operating equipment and supplies from inside Schroeder's body, including a needle, a six-inch roll of bandage, a six-inch long compress, several swabs and a fragment of surgical mask.
The family's lawyer and medical expert Annette Corinth said such a blunder was "unique in medical literature". She told the Daily Mail:
“I hope the hospital will settle but otherwise the family are prepared to go all the way and sue in court. The family of the deceased spent lots of money on care, medicines and reconstruction of their home to look after this man. There has been gross negligence here which most probably had led to complications and possibly a quicker death.”
The hospital has denied the items were left inside Mr. Schroeder during his prostate operation, saying the items had entered his body after the surgery, but didn't indicate how the items could have gotten into his body. Swallowing is a very highly unlikely scenario, especially since a needle was found among the items.
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