Number of surgical objects left in bodies of Hong Kong patients hits four-year high

Seven patients who underwent medical procedures in Hong Kong in the first quarter of the year had surgical objects left inside their bodies - the most since 2010, according to new figures.

The items included a 12cm drainage tube left in a patient's abdomen, a 4.5cm catheter tip left in a kidney and the 1cm end of a drill bit that snapped during hip surgery.

In another case, the spiral metallic tip of a fetal scalp electrode was left embedded in the head of a newborn baby. It was not discovered until a month after birth when the parents noticed swelling on their baby's scalp and sought medical advice. It was later removed.

The 12cm drainage tube left inside a patient with colon cancer was discovered three months after the operation, when the patient complained of abdominal pain during a follow-up appointment. Further surgery was required to remove it.

The incidents were revealed by the Hospital Authority in the latest issue of , its magazine for health care professionals. Data collected since 2010 shows the average number of such incidents per quarter is 3.6.

Tim Pang Hung-cheong, spokesman for the Patients' Rights Association, said the number of incidents needed to be monitored closely.

"It is only a single [digit] figure so I don't think it is very alarming," Pang said.