Caesarean injured woman's bladder

A woman whose bladder was punctured during a Caesarean section is seeking compensation from Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin for what she claims was staff negligence.

Hui Kam-yuk, who gave birth to a son on May 26, says her uterus was also cut, with the result that she can never deliver a child naturally.

The damage to her bladder was not discovered for four months, during which she suffered pain and urine leakage that, she was told, was normal. 'It was very embarrassing, and the pain was unbearable,' Hui said yesterday. 'Many times, I thought of jumping out of the window. I'd rather die than suffer like this. I carry on only because my children are too young.'

The distressed mother, 38, said that after her discharge from hospital, she was changing sanitary pads eight times a night because of urine leakage. She complained to the Wong Siu Ching Maternal and Child Health Centre a month later, but was told it was normal and to do more exercise. But unbearable pain landed her in the hospital's obstetrics department in September. She had surgery this month to repair the bladder.

The Hospital Authority said surgeons checked Hui's bladder during the surgery, but did not find any hole. It said a punctured bladder was a known Caesarean risk and Hui had signed a document to say she understood the risks. It had arranged social workers and psychiatrists to help her.

Hui, who lives with her husband, baby son, daughter, 11, and mother, 80, said: 'I can't take care of my son at all, and my elderly mother has to carry him on her back.' She will meet the hospital's representatives with lawmaker Andrew Cheng Kar-foo today. 'I want it to compensate me for the psychological and physical pain.'

Professor Leung Tak-yeung of Chinese University said one in 1,000 women would suffer a punctured bladder after a Caesarean section.