Cancer patient, 85, dies after misplaced colostomy surgery at Tseung Kwan O Hospital

An 85-year-old woman with colon cancer died at Tseung Kwan O Hospital on Tuesday night after doctors discovered that a colostomy created during surgery three weeks earlier had been mistakenly placed in her stomach.

According to the hospital, the patient underwent a transverse colostomy on the 7th of last month to relieve intestinal obstruction caused by colon cancer.

After the operation, she was admitted to the intensive care unit and later transferred to a surgical ward for monitoring. On the 16th of last month, she was moved to Haven of Hope Hospital for rehabilitation treatment. Her vital signs remained stable during that period, but the colostomy continued to produce a relatively high output.

Medical staff monitored her condition closely until Sunday afternoon, when the patient developed abdominal pain, low blood pressure and a rapid heart rate. Doctors immediately arranged follow-up treatment and transferred her back to the surgical ward at Tseung Kwan O Hospital on Monday.

The patient underwent an emergency CT scan on Tuesday, which revealed that the stoma had been created in the stomach instead of the transverse colon.

Her condition subsequently deteriorated, with severe dehydration and supraventricular tachycardia. She was transferred to the intensive care unit for treatment.

After discussions between medical staff and the patient’s family, it was agreed that cardiopulmonary resuscitation would not be performed if her condition worsened. She died later that evening from multiple organ failure.

Tseung Kwan O Hospital said it was deeply saddened by the incident. The clinical team and the hospital’s patient relations unit have met with the patient’s family to explain the situation in detail, offer an apology and provide necessary assistance.

The case has been referred to the Coroner for follow-up.

The hospital said it has also reported the incident to the Hospital Authority and will establish a root cause analysis committee to conduct a detailed investigation. The committee is expected to complete its report within eight weeks and propose improvement measures.