August 24, 2009
Life has been a living hell for Xie Zhihua since he had abdominal surgery 13 years ago. Since then, the farmer had been relying on painkillers and Pethidine injections to dull the abdominal pain that tormented him incessantly.
Xie, 36, has completely lost the ability to work and is living off his aging father. His debts are mounting due to the medical bills. Despite his frequent visits to hospitals, doctors failed to pinpoint the cause of the pain beyond the possibility of gastritis or kidney stones.
Then on May 24 of this year, when Xie was sent to the hospital again, his symptoms caught the attention of doctor Xie Jianxing. Suspecting that Xie Zhihua might have a tumor, Dr. Xie ordered an operation, which revealed the real culprit of his suffering: a piece of wrap that was left in his abdominal cavity when he was first treated for accident wounds thirteen years ago.
When the doctors took the foreign object out, it had already developed into a tumor and had rotted part of his intestine.
Xie’s family demanded 600,000 yuan from the Beijiang hospital where Xie was first treated. The hospital only paid them 52,000, asking Xie’s family for proof of all his expenditures over the past thirteen years before they would pay any more.
According to the Yangcheng Evening News article, the two doctors who were responsible for the accident have received criticism and education from the hospital as a punishment.
- Yangcheng Evening News (Chinese): Wrap left in patient’s abdomen caused him living in pain for thirteen years