Woman's fight to find doctors responsible for forceps left in her body
- Published
KK Harshina says she lived with unbearable pain for many years
A woman in the southern Indian state of Kerala, who suffered years of excruciating pain because of a botched surgery, says she is still waiting for the doctors responsible to be punished. The BBC's Imran Qureshi talks to her about her ongoing fight for justice.
KK Harshina, 31, says she lived with unbearable pain in her stomach for years - that is, until a scan last year showed that a pair of forceps had been left inside her body during surgery.
"I cannot describe the pain that I suffered for five years," Ms Harshina tells the BBC.
A mother of three, Ms Harshina underwent Caesarean operations (also known as C-section) for each of their births.
She underwent two of these procedures at a government hospital in Kozhikode's Thamarassery town, one in 2012 and the other in 2016. Her third C-section took place at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode district in 2017.
It was only after this procedure that she began to have issues with stomach pain, Ms Harshina says.
"When I complained, I was told by the doctors that it was because I had a third Caesarean operation," she says. "I was also told that many other women also had a similar complaint."
Over the year, with the pain persisting, Ms Harshina consulted several doctors. This process of trying to trace the source of the pain took both a mental and financial toll on her.
Ms Harshina's case made national headlines last year
It was only in September 2022, when she had tests conducted for a urinary bladder infection, that she finally learnt what lay at the root of her pain: a scan revealed an unexpected piece of metal inside her body.
The metal turned out to be a pair of forceps - 6.1cm long and 5 cm wide - used by doctors to clamp down on bleeding vessels during surgery.
Following the discovery, Ms Harshina underwent another surgery to have the instrument removed.
She subsequently complained to the state health minister, Veena George, which led to the appointment of a committee to investigate the matter.
The Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital also conducted an internal inquiry.
Both investigations led to a dead end.
The Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital said, external that none of its surgical equipment had gone missing and referred to the two surgeries Ms Harshina had undergone prior to 2017.
The health department's investigation also failed to find those responsible.
A separate government probe was unable to trace the origins of the forceps - neither of the hospitals where Ms Harshina underwent her C-sections had a record of the missing instrument.
The BBC has reached out to Ms George for comment but is yet to receive a response.
Earlier this week, Ms Harshina went on a hunger strike outside the hospital, demanding that the state take action against those responsible.
On Thursday, local Opposition leaders persuaded her to give up the hunger strike, saying it was impacting her health.
Ms Harshina called off her hunger strike but continues to sit in protest outside the hospital.
"I will sit on strike [until I gets justice]," she says.
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- Published16 November 2022
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