Woman sues hospital after finding 23-year-old surgery metal clip inside of her

The woman went in for an MRI which had to be aborted after a “metallic artefact” was detected.

EXCLUSIVE

A woman allegedly had a metal clip inside her body for more than 20 years following a routine gallbladder removal.

Rouba Naboulsi, 48, is seeking damages in the NSW Supreme Court after the surgical tool was allegedly left inside of her by mistake in 1997 at Auburn Hospital in Sydney’s west.

The metal clip was only found after she went in for an MRI in December 2020. The scan had to be aborted after a “metallic object” was found inside of her body, court documents say.

The clip was left in her abdomen before migrating down towards her rectum, with the mum of five suffering decades of pain in her stomach and pelvis.

In court documents exclusively obtained by news.com.au, Ms Naboulsi said she began experiencing pain in her abdomen in about 2003 and saw multiple doctors about the issue to no avail.

The operation took place at Auburn hospital in 1997. Picture: Supplied

In 2020, the pain became more severe to the point she was unable to eat due to the pain.

Her GP instructed her to have an MRI of her pelvic region to investigate the issue. The scan was then aborted after doctors found a “metallic object” in her lower abdomen.

“I was not aware of the presence of the metallic artefact until it was detected in this MRI scan,” she wrote in her affidavit to the court.

Doctors told Ms Naboulsi that removing the clip would be difficult and would cost approximately $12,000.

She now seeks to pursue damages over the injuries caused by the clip.

“To this day I continue to experience pain in my lower right abdomen,” she wrote in her affidavit to the court.

“The pain prevents me from bending or kneeling to pray. Also, I cannot sit for extended periods of time.”

A woman allegedly had a metal clip inside her body for more than 20 years.

The court also heard from Dr Peter Conrad, who has experience in laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery.

In his affidavit to the court, Dr Conrad said he had review about 800 medical papers in relation to the case and believed there was “very clear evidence” a clip was lost during the procedure.

Auburn Hospital is under the Western Sydney Local Health District. Picture: NSW Government

Surgical clips used in gall bladder removal surgery. Picture: www.finepart.com

“A laparoscopic clip escaped from the applicator during the procedure, fell into the peritoneal cavity and was not retrieved by surgeons,” he wrote.

He also filed exhibits of the same complication occurring in other patients in separate incidents.

The Western Sydney Local Health District argued that Ms Naboulsi underwent multiple C-section pregnancies which could have also caused the lost clip.

The Health District argued there was no proof Ms Naboulsi had independent “support” for the clip having caused her “any injury of impairment”.

The District also argued a fair trial could not be conducted given the amount of time that has passed since the operation.

On Wednesday, Justice Monika Schmidt AM ruled in favour Ms Naboulsi, ordering the proceedings to go ahead and for both parties to return with short submissions within 14 days.