'Dinner Plate-Sized' Tool Found Inside Woman 18 Months After C-Section

After 18 months, doctors finally discovered what was causing a New Zealand woman to experience chronic and sometimes excruciating pain.

According to a report by Morag McDowell, the country's Health and Disability Commissioner, the woman delivered her baby a cesarean section in 2020. After giving birth to her baby, the woman, who is in her 20s, started to complain of chronic pain in her abdomen.

Despite making several trips to her doctor and the emergency room, nobody could figure out what was causing her pain. It wasn't until the woman underwent a CT scan that doctors found the issue. The scan showed there was an Alexis wound retractor still inside her body.

The 18-inch wound retractor is a device used to draw back the edges of a wound during surgery.

"It should be noted that the retractor, a round, soft tubal instrument of transparent plastic fixed on two rings, is a large item, about the size of a dinner plate. Usually, it would be removed after closing the uterine incision (and before the skin is sutured)," McDowell noted.

"Staff involved have no explanation for how the retractor ended up in the abdominal cavity, or why it was not identified prior to closure. In my view, it is self-evident that the care provided fell below the appropriate standard, because the AWR was not identified during any routine surgical checks, resulting in it being left inside the woman's abdomen," McDowell wrote in the report.

The case has been referred to the director of proceedings, who will decide whether to pursue disciplinary charges against the surgeons responsible for leaving the medical device inside the woman.

The report did not provide any information about the woman or her condition after having the wound retractor removed.