The Kano State Hospitals Management Board has ordered an investigation into the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre following allegations of medical negligence after a woman died with a surgical instrument reportedly left inside her body.
The deceased, Aishatu Umar, a mother of five, died in the early hours of Monday, about four months after undergoing surgery at the state-owned hospital in Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State.
Husband alleges surgical error
Her husband, Abubakar Muhammad, said Aishatu underwent surgery at the facility in September after falling ill. He said she began experiencing severe and persistent abdominal pain shortly after the operation.
According to him, despite repeatedly returning to the hospital to report her condition, doctors allegedly dismissed her complaints and continued to prescribe pain-relief medication.
“Each time she went back to complain, they only prescribed painkillers. They kept telling her the pain was normal for patients who had undergone surgery, but they never recommended an X-ray or any scan,” Muhammad said.
Scissors allegedly discovered months later
Muhammad said his wife’s condition continued to worsen over the following months. He said it was only days before her death, after she was taken to Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, that medical tests and scans allegedly revealed a pair of surgical scissors left inside her abdomen.
He said plans were being made for corrective surgery to remove the object, but his wife died before the procedure could be carried out.
Describing the incident as gross medical negligence, Muhammad said the development had caused deep pain to his family and raised concerns about professional standards in public healthcare.
“While we acknowledge that death is inevitable, we cannot understand how such an error could occur during a surgical procedure,” he said.
Government orders investigation
Reacting to the allegation, the Kano State Hospitals Management Board said it had ordered an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the matter.
The Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Mansur Mudi Nagoda, confirmed that the probe would focus on establishing the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Board said patient safety remains a top priority and assured the public that appropriate action would be taken based on the outcome of the investigation.
