Woman discovers needle left in vagina during childbirth after 18 years of pain

A woman has had to endure severe pain for nearly two decades after medical staff left a needle in her vagina during childbirth.

The woman, now 36, from the southern Narathiwat province in Thailand said a nurse accidentally dropped a needle into her vagina 18 years ago while stitching her up after childbirth.

A doctor apparently tried “using his fingers” to retrieve the misplaced needle but could not get it, the woman told the nonprofit Pavena Foundation for Children and Women, which she asked for assistance on 4 November.

Fearing more blood loss due to a delay in suturing, the woman recalled, the doctor continued the procedure without taking the needle out.

She was soon feeling constant pain in her lower abdomen, which often turned severe, the foundation said.

An X-ray last year showed that the needle was still lodged in her vagina, prompting doctors at the local hospital to send her for surgery in the Songkhla province.

The procedure, however, has had to be postponed two-three times as the needle keeps moving inside her.

The woman has to visit the hospital at least four times a month for follow-ups to monitor her condition, causing her significant financial strain.

“Her family is poor, so she asked Paveena to help,” the foundation said on its website last week.

Pawina Hongsakul, the head of the foundation, said she contacted a public hospital and set up an appointment for her treatment.

She also coordinated with the department of social development and human security in the province to arrange transport for the woman for her hospital visits.

It was not immediately known when she might have surgery to remove the needle or whether she would take legal action against the hospital for medical malpractice.

In June, another Thai woman nearly lost her life after a medical team left gauze inside her uterus during treatment for cancer that caused her to suffer a severe infection.