Limpopo -
A Polokwane woman is due to receive R200 000 in damages from the Limpopo MEC for Health after she was admitted to hospital for a hernia operation, but the doctors removed tissue from her leg instead.
Susanna Cornelia Nell, 35, stated in papers before the High Court in Pretoria, that apart from the wrong operation being performed, her wounds became septic as she did not receive adequate treatment.
She was sent home the day after the operation without any post-operative care, Nell said.
She claimed R520 000 in damages, but the MEC settled the claim by offering R200 000. The hospital at first denied all liability, claiming that Nell had received adequate care, but it later accepted 100 percent liability for the damages she had suffered.
Nell said in court papers that on September 18, 2012, a doctor at the Polokwane Hospital diagnosed her as suffering from a hernia. It was recommended she undergo surgery.
She was admitted to the hospital on November 14, 2012, and was operated on the next day.
However, the doctors failed to repair the hernia and told her they could not locate the problem.
They removed some tissue from her leg but Nell was never told why.
Nell stated that when she was discharged the day after the operation she was unaware that the hernia could not be located and was only told of this later.
Nell experienced severe pain after she was discharged and her wounds became septic a few days later.
This resulted in her having to incur further medical expenses.
She blamed the doctors and nurses for her condition, saying the doctor either misdiagnosed a hernia or the doctors simply did not do their job when they could not locate it.
Nell also complained that she only gave consent for the hernia operation and not for any additional or alternative procedure, such as the removal of tissue from her leg.
She said the fact that she was discharged without any post operative care, led to her wounds becoming septic.
The staff failed to adequately clean and stitch the wounds after the surgery, she said.
According to her, the hospital had a duty to ensure that sufficient wound care was administrated and that she remained in hospital until she was in a condition to be sent home.
Nell said that apart from suffering chronic pain, she now has unsightly surgical scars.
She also suffered emotional shock and psychological trauma due to her ordeal, she said.
Pretoria News