It was supposed to be one of the most joyous moments of her life as a mum. But after a botched C-section, 31-year-old Kelly Maynard was left traumatised –writhing in pain as her bowels fell out. What’s more, she was left with a permanent, “vile,” Frankenstein scar.
Image source: SWNS
Mum horrified to find a Frankenstein scar and bowels falling out of her body a day later
Barely a week since she experienced placental complications, she was brought to the hospital for an emergency C-section. A day after her youngest child was delivered, she was horrified to find her bowels had prolapsed.
The mum-of-four and beauty business owner recalls the “indescribable pain” she went through in an interview with UK news site SWNS.com.
What’s more, the botched C-section left her with a Frankenstein scar, after doctors allegedly failed to stitch her up properly.
She claims that she had to wait for 4 hours to see a surgeon
Image source: Pixabay
Maynard was immediately brought to a hospital where, despite “screaming in pain,” she had to wait for four hours until she saw a surgeon.
“No painkiller was taking the pain away,” she tells SWNS. “I feel miserable. The pain they have left me in is indescribable.”
She laments her “disgusting scar,” which is the result of three surgeries.
“When you have a C-section the scar is supposed to be a tiny straight line. Mine looks like Frankenstein has got hold of it, it looks like a smiley face,” she laments to SWNS.
“I know there are complications to a procedure but your bowel coming out of your body is not a complication of a C-section – it’ s unheard of, it never happens,” she stresses. “Scars can open up, that’s fine, but my bowel was moving around inside me and pushed its way out of the opening.”
The hospital in question, Royal Bolton Hospital, has reportedly apologised. They are currently investigating the incident.
“We are sorry that Ms Maynard is in this situation when she should be enjoying her new baby,” a Hospital spokesman said, adding that they have reached out to Maynard to “answer her questions relating to her care.”
“We recognise that her treatment was not as she would have hoped,” they said, “and apologise for the upset and distress this has caused.”
Have there been other similar complications in the past?
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Even the most skilled surgeon can sometimes make unavoidable oversights. Though an extreme case, the severe intestinal injuries that happened to Maynard when suturing her C-section incision, was one of them.
Though a C-section is a “relatively safe” procedure, it is not without its risks and complications, like any other surgery.
Here are some of the most common of these potential complications:
- Massive blood loss
- Infection (Endometritis, wound infection, sepsis)
- Blood clots (legs or lungs)
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Severe headache
- Bowel problems (like constipation)
- Bladder injury
- Lacerations
- Maternal death (though this is very rare, occurring every two in 100,000 C-sections.)
In the long term, a C-section mum is at higher risk of developing the following conditions:
- Uterine rupture. This involves the “breaking open of the incision scar” during a following pregnancy, says WebMD, sometimes during a VBAC or Vaginal Birth After Cesarean.
- Placenta previa. A condition wherein the placenta blocks the cervix because of a low position in the uterus.
- Placenta accreta, increta, or percreta. These conditions, which vary in severity, happen when the placenta is found deeper than normal in the uterine wall. This puts the C-section mum at risk for severe hemorrhage or bleeding in future pregnancies.
Sources: SWNS.com, Medscape, WebMD, Medline Plus
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