THANE: A criminal case was filed against three doctors and a nurse of Jupiter Hospital in Thane for allegedly leaving behind a surgical mop in the body of a female doctor during a caesarean operation.
The offence was registered on the basis of a report given by the civil surgeon of Thane district, the police said.
They added that surgeon Dr Ashutosh Ajgaonkar, assistant surgeon Dr Supriya Mahajan, anaesthetist Dr Chinmayee Gadkari and a nurse are facing the charges.
As per the complaint filed by the victim, herself a doctor in Satara, she felt severe pain after the caesarean section in May 2020.
She approached Dr Ajgaonkar in this regard, but no corrective action was taken.
In the meantime, the victim did a CT Scan and other tests that revealed the presence of a surgical mop (10 x 10cm) and a metallic strip 2 x 1 cm in her abdomen.
The complainant said that she suffered severe complications and her intestine and an ovary have been damaged. She underwent surgery in Satara last year in August.
As per the rules, her complaint to the police was examined by a special medical committee. Any police action has to be based on this committee’s report.
An offence under Sections 308 (whoever does any act with such intention or knowledge and under such circumstances that, if he by that act caused death, he would be guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 of the IPC has been registered against the medical team.
No arrests have been made so far, the police officer said, adding that a police investigation was under way.
In a statement released by Jupiter Hospital, the concerned surgeon has said the patient was rushed to the operation theatre as the baby’s heart rate was rapidly decreasing. “An emergency caesarean surgery was performed to save the lives of mother and baby. Following the birth of the child, the patient had a lot of bleeding. Hence emergency measures were taken to manage the bleeding and prevent a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus). As a result of prompt and timely action, the lives of both baby and mother were saved," read the statement.
