UDON THANI: A 33-year-old woman has accused Udon Thani Hospital of stealing her kidney during surgery to remove her womb and ovaries after a misdiagnosis that she had cancer.
Sinawaporn Homklang, a former employee of Prince of Songkla University in Songkhla province's Hat Yai district, outlined her complaint at the provincial hall complaints centre on Friday,
She said that on June 16 she suffered pain in her abdomen. At Hat Yai Hospital she was diagnosed with an intestinal obstruction, with a recommendation she be admitted for hospital treatment.
She decided to return to her native province of Udon Thani for treatment.
The symptoms recurred upon her arrival in Udon Thani and she sought immediate treatment at Udon Thani Hospital. A duty doctor diagnosed her with chocolate cysts (noncancerous, fluid-filled cysts) in her ovaries and intestine, and recommended an injection to dissolve them.
Although her symptoms improved, a senior doctor arrived, diagnosed her with cancer and insisted that she needed surgery. The doctor rejected her request for an examination of a tissue sample before committing to surgery.
Later, she agreed to the operation. Afterwards she was informed that her womb and ovaries were removed and her rectum relocated. Her relatives were not informed of the details during the operation, Ms Sinawaporn said.
Two weeks later the hospital informed her that she did not have cancer. She made a complaint and received 240,000 baht in compensation.
On Nov 9, she returned to Udon Thani Hospital to seek the restoration of her rectum. A doctor there warned her she should not work too hard because she had only one kidney left. She was very surprised and wondered if her kidney was taken for any vested interest.
Ms Sinawaporn said she was the sole breadwinner of her family and now she could neither work hard nor have a baby. Her Singaporean boyfriend, who had planned to marry her next year, was distancing himself from her.
The director of the hospital, Dr Narong Tadadet, said the missing kidney complaint was new and would be investigated.