Renowned Hong Kong surgeon struck off for 6 months after failing to realise gauze left inside patient’s stomach
- Medical Council says Dr Chu Kin-wah failed to properly investigate after patient’s complaints or adequately check possible presence of a foreign object
- Follow-up surgery removed ‘fist-sized mass’ of surgical gauze from Shum Chun-kong’s abdomen after he sought second opinion
A renowned Hong Kong surgeon has been struck off the medical register for six months, after failing to realise gauze had been left inside a patient’s stomach during an operation.
The Medical Council on Sunday also found Dr Chu Kin-wah guilty of professional misconduct for failing to appropriately investigate after the patient complained of abdominal pain three weeks after his first operation.
“In this alarming and life-threatening situation, in our view, as a responsible surgeon, [Chu] ought to have taken steps to remove the foreign body as soon as possible,” the council said in its verdict.
Chu performed a closure of a sigmoid colostomy on Shum Chun-kong in October 2015 after complications arose following the removal of his prostate months earlier due to cancer. A sigmoid colostomy is surgery to create an opening for the colon.
The Medical Council noted that 10 pieces of surgical gauze had been used in the operation.