Dehradun woman dies after ‘doctor leaves gauze inside her body’

A 26-year-old woman from Dehradun has died after an alleged act of gross medical negligence — a gauze piece reportedly left inside her abdomen following a Caesarean section earlier this year. The incident has triggered outrage and a formal probe by the district health authorities.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Manoj Sharma recently confirmed that an inquiry had been ordered after the woman’s husband accused the private hospital in Araghar of negligence. “A four-member committee has been constituted to investigate the claims and review the hospital’s surgical protocols,” Sharma said.

The victim, identified as Jyoti Pal, had undergone surgery in January. According to her family, she complained of persistent abdominal pain for months. When she sought treatment at another hospital last month, scans revealed a gauze piece lodged inside her body. Doctors operated to remove it, but her condition deteriorated, and she died on October 20.

“Leaving behind surgical materials is a serious procedural failure,” the CMO said. “Gauzes can cause infections, but deaths are rare. We must determine what led to such a severe outcome and whether proper surgical counts and safety checks were followed.”

Authorities have summoned the doctors and staff involved in the January operation. The hospital, meanwhile, has reportedly shut down amid the investigation.

The health department’s four-member panel will now examine medical records, post-mortem findings, and procedural lapses to determine culpability in what is being seen as one of the most alarming cases of alleged medical negligence in recent months.