Home Remedy Needed For Cloth In Leg
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday September 27, 2006
AN Oak Flats mother used tweezers during a home medical procedure to remove a piece of clothing accidentally stitched into her son's leg by a hospital doctor.
Mick and Jenny Deane wondered why an injury suffered by their son Jack, 9, took so long to heal, until a piece of Jack's school shorts started protruding from his wound on Saturday."We noticed a piece of something grey coming out of his wound so we took him back to the hospital to find out what it was. The triage nurse told us it was nothing to worry about and rather than wait to be seen in emergency, we'd be better off going to see our family doctor this week," Jack's father Mick said. "(On Sunday) it had come out a little bit more and Jenny, Jack's mum, used a pair of tweezers to pull it out completely."Jack took a tumble from his BMX bike on August 23, a handlebar brake piercing his school shorts and thigh."We took him to Shellharbour Hospital and they put him straight in. They had to check if there was damage to his muscle and tendon - you could see straight through his leg," Mr Deane said."The doctor said there was no damage, cleaned the wound and put stitches in - about 20 internal stitches and nine on the outside of his leg."Jack, a keen soccer player and lover of all sports was put on crutches and told to rest but before the week was out the pain was back and his thigh had swollen."The wound kept getting infected. Our doctor said the wound should have been left partly open and allowed to drain."More than a month after his bike accident Jack is off crutches but still walks with a limp.A South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service spokeswoman said on Monday a hospital representative had been in contact with the family and there would be an investigation into Jack's treatment.
© 2006 Illawarra Mercury