Surgical swab left in patient's chest after heart op

A septuagenarian who underwent a triple heart bypass operation is set on suing the surgeon who operated on him and allegedly left a swab in his chest cavity.

Pretoria - A man in his 70s who underwent a triple heart bypass operation, but had to return to the operating table after a surgical swab was allegedly left in his chest cavity, is set on suing the cardio-vascular surgeon who operated on him.

Malcolm Kilmister, 71, of Germiston, initially instituted his R1.2 million claim against both the specialist surgeon and the Glynnwood Hospital, but the hospital successfully approached the court to order Kilmister to drop his claim against it as there was nothing to implicate it in any wrongdoing.

Kilmister was admitted to hospital on July 23, 2012, and had a triple bypass with a pacemaker inserted.

At the end of the procedure, nursing staff who assisted in theatre noticed that a Raytec swab was unaccounted for and brought this to the specialist's attention. It is alleged he failed to do anything at the time to establish where it was.

However during the post-op examination, he was told a swab had been detected in his chest, that an infection had set in, and it would have to be surgically removed.

Kilmister said he had severe pain and shock after the second operation, which he said would not have been necessary had the specialist not forgotten the swab, or acted sooner when he was alerted by nursing staff.

The judge granted Kilmister leave to amend his court papers within 20 days, removing the hospital as a defendant.

Pretoria News