At Maragua Level 4 Hospital in Murang’a County, a team of medical professionals successfully performed a procedure to remove a scalpel blade that was left in the abdomen of a 36-year-old woman. This occurred 11 years prior during a Cesarean Section surgery at Kitale District Hospital.
The 2-hour operation was led by Dr. Kairo Kimende, the medical superintendent of the hospital. The blade was located in the abdomen, between the uterus and small intestines, causing a blockage and preventing the patient, Felistah Nafula, from becoming pregnant.
Nafula began experiencing complications after her C-Section delivery in 2012. Over the years, her husband constantly questioned her inability to conceive, leading her to seek medical help from various hospitals. It wasn’t until an X-ray was conducted at a Thika hospital, as advised by doctors in Nairobi, that the scalpel blade was discovered.
Nafula and her husband, Samuel Mungai, are now seeking government intervention for compensation and prosecution of the medical professionals responsible for the negligence. The couple had to sell their land to pay for her medical expenses and Mungai, a mechanic, had exhausted his earnings.
The patient’s 11-year struggle with medical complications and the emotional toll it took on her and her family highlights the importance of proper medical procedures and the consequences of medical malpractice.
