15-inch surgical clamps left inside man's abdomen

A German man is suing medical staff after a pair of 15-inch long surgical clamps was left inside his abdomen during a routine operation.

Norbert Pohl went into hospital last year for a relatively simple procedure to clear his blocked intestine, but emerged suffering excruciating pain.

The 61-year-old said he went to his doctor who ordered an X-ray that clearly showed the clamps embedded in the wall of his abdomen.



Mr Pohl said despite the horrifying image, the Catholic Clinical Centre in Duisburg did not tell him that he had the clamps inside him "probably because they sought a way out of their blunder".

"I have to wear a surgical corset now incase my insides literally fall out because my abdomen wall has collapsed."

The clamps "rattled and shook like a chain saw, mincing his insides to pieces," said Mr Pohl's lawyer, who has launched a £100,000 damages claims against medical staff who carried out the operation.