Surgery goof gets man $97,000 payment

Associated Press

SEATTLE — It’s every patient’s nightmare.

After doctors at the University of Washington Medical Center removed Donald Church’s abdominal tumor in May 2000, they sewed him back up and sent him on his way.

Unfortunately, they’d forgotten a 13-inch retractor, used to hold the incision open during surgery.

"It’s hard to believe that surgeons could leave behind a hunk of metal the length of your forearm, but that’s what happened," said lawyer Ralph Brindley.

University of Washington doctors have acknowledged the error, settling a lawsuit filed by Church with a $97,000 settlement on Nov. 16.

It appears the hardest part was convincing doctors they’d made a mistake.

"They really weren’t convinced until they actually saw the CT-scan reports with this 13-inch blade in me," Church, a 50-year-old pest-control technician from Lynnwood, said Monday in a telephone interview.

The device is a malleable retractor.

"Here’s what it sounds like," Church said, releasing the spring-loaded device to produce a loud, metallic "SPROIING!"

"I could feel a lump right below my rib cage and it went at an angle all the way down to my tailbone," he said.

At his 30-day checkup, "the surgeons did feel it … but they just told me ‘You went through major surgery — you’re going to feel some pain for a while.’ "

Weeks went by. Church — unable to bend over without pain — started enlisting family help with everyday chores.

Finally, his regular doctor detected an oddly shaped lump during an unrelated checkup.

More than two months after removal of the malignant 13-pound tumor, a CT scan confirmed the 13-by-2-inch steel instrument was still inside him. It was removed in a second surgery.

"This was an unfortunate mistake for which we accept full responsibility," UW spokesman L.G. Blanchard said Monday. "We are deeply sorry that this gentleman had this experience while entrusting his health care to us. We fully recognize that the public expects health care to be not only effective but also safe."

Church noted from the settlement record that the surgeon signed off on an instrument count before his incision was closed. If he ever has another operation, he said, he wants the procedure on videotape.

Between surgeries, Church went to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to pick up his daughter.

When he got to the metal detector, he emptied his pockets of change and keys, but the metal detector — detecting the instrument inside him — keep beeping.

"I just gave them a blank look," Church said.

That was before Sept. 11. Airport security staff waved him through.