Monday, August 27, 2007

Camera got stuck in man after operation

A man left with a miniature camera stuck inside his body for three months after an operation at Kingston Hospital has described his hospital experience as a "catalogue of errors".

Roger Whitlock, 58, was sent to Kingston Hospital on May 23 last year for an exploratory procedure called a capsule endoscopy after suffering bleeding in his stomach for two years.

The minature camera he swallowed was meant to travel through the digestive system and transmit images to a remote data recorder, before being excreted naturally.

But it got lodged in his body and had to be surgically removed three months later on August 21.

A year on, he received a report detailing the findings of the procedure, only to discover further faults and that the procedure had been inconclusive.

He said: "They had put my birth date as July 22, 1900, making me over 100 years old. Also, the test date said the procedure had taken place on May 23, 1948. It would also mean that it took over 50 years to get the report to me. If they make these little mistakes you wonder what's going on - it has been a catalogue of errors."

A spokeswoman for Kingston Hospital said it could not comment on the case because of patient confidentiality. "The report did contain a typographical error and we have apologised to Mr Whitlock for this."

No comments: