A Thai woman endured excessive pain for nearly two decades and only to learn recently that it was caused due to a surgical needle left in her vagina during childbirth.
To add to her misery, the needle could not be removed even today.
The revelation was made on November 5 on the official website of the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women, a non-profit organisation in Thailand dedicated to assisting victims of abuse, including rape, harassment, and human trafficking, according to South China Morning Post.
The foundation said they received a letter from the 36-year-old woman. She is a resident of Narathiwat region of Thailand.
According to reports, the medical staff kept the needle inside the vagina while suturing and even failed to retrieve it.
The medical staff left the needle inside and closed the wound, fearing excessive bleeding.
The woman has been suffering from intermittent and unbearable lower abdominal pain since then.
The presence of the needle was confirmed last year while conducting an X-ray in a government-run hospital.
Although she was subsequently referred to a hospital in Songkhla province for surgery, the procedure has been postponed three times due to the needle shifting within her body, reported The South China Morning Post.
The woman is facing severe financial strain owing to her frequent visits to hospital every month for follow ups.
“Her family is poor, so she asked Paveena to help,” the foundation said on its website last week, reported The Independent.
Pawina Hongsakul, the head of the foundation, told the newspaper she contacted a public hospital and set up an appointment for her treatment.
