The family of a patient who died in Germany after surgeons left 16 different items inside his body during an operation are seeking £80,000 compensation from hospital authorities.
Dirk Schroeder, 74, suffered 'appalling agony' after the routine surgery for prostate cancer and had been told he could expect to live another six years at least.
But within months he was back in hospital after a shocked nurse on a home visit in Hanover, Germany, saw a huge gauze pad sticking out from his wound.
Surgeons later removed 16 items of operating theatre equipment and supplies from inside Schroeder's body, including a needle, a six-inch roll of bandage, a six-inch long compress, several swabs and a fragment of surgical mask.
The incident happened in 2009 and Mr Schroeder survived, but his cancer had spread and he passed away last year.
His family have now launched a lawsuit against the clinic seeking £80,000 in damages. It took two further operations to remove all the debris from his body.
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