Image for representation Image source: AP
Kerala Health Minister Veena George has ordered a probe into the startling discovery of arterial forceps in the abdomen of a woman who underwent surgery at Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, in 2021.
Patient Usha Joseph underwent surgery to remove the uterine fibroid at the hospital. Her son Shebin told reporters that she felt uncomfortable and had bouts of abdominal pain. She went to the hospital several times, but the doctors refused her and failed to determine the source of her discomfort.
Mr Shibin said his mother had recently consulted another doctor due to abdominal pain. He told her it could be a kidney stone and asked her to undergo an X-ray. The report revealed the surgical instrument.
When confronted, the maternal and child health doctors agreed to remove the forceps. However, the family refused and Mrs. Joseph was shifted to a private hospital in Ernakulam. Mr. Shibin alleged that maternal and child health authorities challenged him to file a complaint of medical negligence and rejected his request for compensation.
The family also raised allegations against Dr Lalithambika, a surgeon who recently retired from the hospital. Mr. Shibin said that he visited the doctor alone several times, but to no avail.
Dr. Lalithambika has denied the accusations. She said the surgery was scheduled during her retirement. “I was not performing major surgeries at the end of my service, even though I was the head of the unit. Moreover, I performed the surgery during the Covid period, when I was burdened with other duties,” she said.
Dr Lalithambika denied that she entertained the patient at her home or accepted any backhand to treat her condition. She also blamed the nurse for not keeping proper records of the surgical accessories used during the operation and for not reviewing them after the operation. Dr Lalithambika claimed that surgical devices left in the body during surgery “do no harm for decades”.
The minister denies the accusations
But Ms. George rejected Dr. Lalithambika’s statement. “The doctor cannot absolve herself of responsibility. She remembers the surgical operation but does not acknowledge that the operation was performed under her supervision.”
Ms George said a board of government doctors would soon arrive at the private hospital where Ms Joseph was awaiting surgery. They will expand their investigation to MCH. Ms George said the incident was a “clear case of criminal negligence” and that a police investigation was inevitable.
Moreover, maternal and child health doctors receive an allowance for not seeing patients one-on-one, and the doctor appears to have violated a service rule, Ms. George said. She also stated that the government has not ruled out an anti-corruption investigation.
Venugopal criticizes health department.
Meanwhile, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, who represents Alappuzha Assembly constituency, told reporters in Delhi that the incident reflects the “poor state” of the public health sector in Kerala. “Ordinary citizens are the victims of the Ministry of Health’s systemic failures,” he said.
Published – 20 February 2026 at 11:18 AM IST
