Lawsuit: Sponge Left in Woman's Abdomen

A widower claims in court that his wife's death was due to physicians' failure to retrieve a sponge that was left behind for 15 months in her abdomen following surgery, as reported by the Dayton Daily News. D.S. filed the medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit in 2010, targeting a team of surgeons led by Wright State Physicians. A jury of 8 in the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court heard the opening statements. Judge Frances McGee is the presiding judge and the trial is expected to last a full week.

According to D.S., his wife E.S. endured a 17-hour surgery in February of 2009. The surgical team left behind a laparotomy sponge, which led to complications and her death. The original lawsuit named the doctor, Wright State Physicians, several scrub technicians, nurses, and other personnel as defendants.

Wright State Physicians Inc. has admitted to leaving the sponge in E.S.'s body after the surgery and in failing in two subsequent surgeries from retrieving it. However, the group denies any liability, stating that the sponge did not cause E.S. to have complications or to die as a result.

The attorney for D.S. told the jury that E.S. endured several medical procedures before dying on May 7, 2010 at the age of 58. The attorney recounted that during a surgery dated February 26 to 27, the procedure had taken so long that a shift change occurred. It was during this time that members of the medical team noted that their sponge count was wrong. The doctor ordered an x-ray, removed one sponge, was then told that the count was now corrected, and finished the surgery. According to Leppla, the doctor never looked at E.S.'s x-ray because the film clearly showed that the upper left quadrant of her abdomen retained a sponge.

The jury was able to see the radiology report for themselves. The film was taken following the surgery. The report states that images that are consistent with sponges ("two ribbon-like high density structures") were apparent in the x-ray. Leppla told the jury that the doctor failed to view the x-ray for five or six weeks. At which time he made a note and scheduled E.S. for two more surgeries to try and remove the sponge. One of the surgeries, injured E.S's spleen.

A "new set of eyes" was ordered to take a look at the E.S. case. She then entered the Cleveland Clinic and a "foreign object" was noted again. Leppla plans to call an expert witness to testify that leaving the sponge behind led to E.S.'s complications. The sponge was eventually removed during a 9-hour surgery on October 1, 2009. E.S died less than 7 months later. Leppla added, "The bottom line is it's time to take responsibility."