Surgical scissors left inside patient, Kano health board confirms

The Kano State Hospitals Management Board has acknowledged that the death of Aishatu Umar, a 25-year-old mother of five, resulted from lapses in medical care at the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre, a government-owned health facility in Kano.

In a statement, the Board’s Public Relations Officer, Samira Suleiman, disclosed that a preliminary inquiry authorised by the Executive Secretary, Dr Mansur Mudi Nagoda, established that a surgical instrument was mistakenly left inside the patient during an operation.

As an immediate response, three health workers connected to the procedure have been withdrawn from clinical duties pending further investigation. The Board said the case has also been forwarded to the Kano State Medical Ethics Committee for a detailed review and possible sanctions in line with professional regulations and state laws.

The Board expressed sympathy to the bereaved family, assuring the public that any form of negligence within the state’s health system would be decisively addressed.

The case gained public attention following reports that Umar died after enduring months of complications linked to a surgical procedure performed at the centre.

A family member, Abubakar Mohammed, said the deceased underwent surgery at the facility in September and subsequently developed persistent abdominal pain. He alleged that repeated hospital visits resulted only in the prescription of pain medication, without thorough diagnostic assessments.

According to him, medical scans carried out shortly before her death revealed that surgical scissors had been left inside her body, prompting plans for another operation that never took place.