A woman has been left in shock after receiving burns to her abdomen during a gynaecological surgery, a report has found.
According to a Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) report published Monday, during the private surgery in December 2018, the surgeon placed a diathermy pencil used for electrosurgery on the woman instead of in the holster as temporary storage.
Diathermy pencils come with a holster for safe placement of the pencil while not in use, according to the report.
"The surgeon placed the diathermy pencil on the woman's abdomen instead of in the quiver as expected, putting the woman directly in harm's way," it said.
This caused three small but deep individual burns to her abdomen which were described as being 1cm long and 1.5cm deep.
The woman and her partner were provided with an open explanation and apology after her surgery.
The surgeon told HDC she had "no hesitation in apologising for what happened to her at the time of the surgery," and filled out an incident form for the adverse event.
The woman later told HDC that it will take her longer to recover from her burn wounds than from her actual operation.
She told HDC that her surgery was a traumatic experience and stated: "[These events] have influenced my day-to-day life but also I will now have to live with [the burns] the rest of my life both physically and mentally.
"Plus, I may potentially have to undergo another operation to amend the error, which may leave me scarring in other places, further time off work, and maybe further issues.
"I sincerely hope that others have not been treated and/or affected by the same mishap that I have experienced as [the surgeon] has continued to practice since my surgery."
As a result of this incident, a copy of the report with details of the surgeon will be sent to the Medical Council of New Zealand and the Royal Australian and NZ College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for reference.
The report will also be sent to the Health Quality & Safety Commission and placed on the Health and Disability Commissioner website for educational purposes.
