New York, NY personal injury attorney Michael Ronemus talks about tells us about the Sloan Kettering medical malpractice case where a retractor was left in the patient. The patient had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. He had pancreatic cancer, a condition often considered deadly, though recent advancements in treatment had improved his prognosis. His medical team decided that he was in stable enough condition to undergo surgery to remove part of his pancreas, a common procedure for treating pancreatic cancer.

The operation was deemed successful, and the surgical team reported that everything had gone well. However, an X-ray taken after the procedure revealed a concerning issue: the radiologist noted what appeared to be a retractor lying next to the patient on the operating table. Despite this observation, no follow-up action was taken. In standard practice, surgical teams count the instruments used during an operation to ensure that all items are accounted for before closing the incision. In this case, either the count was not performed, or it was inaccurate, as the retractor had been left inside the patient’s body. The X-ray, initially thought to show the retractor outside his body, actually depicted it inside, but this was overlooked.

The patient was discharged from the hospital and returned home, but he soon began experiencing significant pain. Given the size of the retractor, likely six to eight inches long, this was unsurprising. He returned to the hospital a few days later for further evaluation, and the medical team performed an exploratory operation. Despite this second surgery, they failed to identify the presence of the retained retractor. After closing him up once more, the patient went back home to North Carolina. However, he continued to suffer from persistent abdominal pain and complications, prompting him to seek medical attention from his local doctor before eventually flying back to New York for further evaluation.

A third operation was performed about two months after the initial surgery. During this procedure, the medical team finally discovered that the retractor had been left inside the patient from the first surgery. By then, the instrument had migrated into his intestine. The surgical team removed the retractor and closed him up again, and he was sent home to North Carolina. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. The retractor had caused a severe infection, leading to sepsis throughout his body. The patient succumbed to the infection about a month after his return to North Carolina.