A mysterious hole was found in a cancer patient's stomach four days after an operation to remove a tumour, an inquest heard yesterday. Yiu Sai-kit, 59, died of bacterial infection in Tseung Kwan O Hospital's intensive care unit on February 13 last year after the hole was discovered. Coroner Michael Chan Pik-kiu was told Yiu had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and underwent an operation on February 8 at the hospital to remove the tumour and three-quarters of his stomach. Four days later, a one-centimetre hole was found in Yiu's stomach during a second operation. Testifying in court, Dr Chung Tsz-kwong, who performed the second operation, said it was necessary because of serious complications following the first operation. He said he could not explain how the hole came about but that it might have been caused by Yiu's extraordinarily thin gastric wall. Yiu's wife, Tai Hung-fong, testified that medical staff had not told her of Yiu's condition after the first operation and said her requests for doctors to examine her husband were ignored. Ms Tai said she wondered why the hole was not detected for four days. Dr Chong Lap-chun, who performed the first operation on Yiu, said patients who underwent such an operation had about a one in 50 chance of dying. He said he had correctly tied what was left of Yiu's stomach but added he had little control over recovery from the surgical wounds. That, he said, depended on the patient's will and medical condition. The hearing continues today.
