Surgeon Left TOOL Inside Me For 58 Days — $16M Made Hospital PAY

Описание: Surgeon Left TOOL Inside Me For 58 Days — $16M Made Hospital PAY

Houston, Texas, March 2023. Michael Torres, a 52-year-old construction supervisor, went in for routine gallbladder removal surgery. Simple procedure. In and out. Back to work in a week. That's what they told him.

But when Dr. Brandon Holloway closed him up after the 90-minute surgery, something was VERY wrong. A 13-inch Richardson retractor—a massive metal surgical tool—was still inside Michael's abdomen. The surgical team had failed to count their instruments correctly. And they sewed him up with that metal inside him.

Michael woke up in AGONY. Not normal post-surgery pain. Something deeper. Worse. Like metal pressing against his organs from the inside. Because that's exactly what was happening.

The doctor dismissed it: "Normal post-op pain. Take your meds. You'll be fine."

Michael went home. The pain got WORSE. Five days later, he went back to the ER. They dismissed him again: "Just constipation from the pain meds. Here are laxatives."

Day 12: Fever of 102°F. ER visit #3. "Probably just an infection. Here are antibiotics."

Day 22: Michael's eyes turned YELLOW. He'd lost 18 pounds. Could barely walk. His daughter Jessica—a medical student—took one look at him and KNEW this was sepsis. ER visit #4. This time, she DEMANDED a CT scan.

The radiologist couldn't believe what he saw: A 13-INCH METAL RETRACTOR sitting inside Michael's abdomen, surrounded by a massive 8-centimeter abscess. Infection had been eating away at Michael's liver and colon for 58 DAYS. He was septic. Dying. Days away from multi-organ failure.

Emergency surgery. Four and a half hours. Dr. Patricia Chen removed the retractor (covered in pus and dead tissue), drained the abscess, cut away necrotic liver tissue, and irrigated 15 liters of infected fluid from his abdominal cavity.

Michael spent 12 days in ICU fighting for his life. Lost 47 pounds total. Nearly died from kidney failure, pneumonia, and wound infection on top of the sepsis.

But he survived. And then he sued.

The lawsuit uncovered HORRIFYING truths: Dr. Holloway had THREE previous "close calls" with retained instruments. The hospital had been understaffing surgical teams—one nurse covering THREE operating rooms—to cut costs. Multiple warnings had been ignored. And Michael wasn't the first victim.

After a three-week trial, the jury awarded Michael $16 MILLION—$6M compensatory, $10M punitive. Dr. Holloway lost his medical license permanently. The hospital was forced to hire more nurses and implement RFID tracking for all surgical instruments.

Michael used $3 million to create the Torres Surgical Safety Foundation, which has since helped identify 7 other cases of retained instruments and saved lives through their patient hotline.

This is his story. And it could save YOUR life.

⏱️ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction
01:45 - CHAPTER 1: What Should Have Been Simple
13:20 - CHAPTER 2: 58 Days of Hell - Four ER Dismissals
26:35 - CHAPTER 3: The Recovery That Nearly Killed Me
38:50 - CHAPTER 4: The Truth Comes Out - Hospital Negligence Exposed
49:30 - CHAPTER 5: Justice and Purpose - $16M Verdict
60:15 - Final Message: Surgical Safety Matters

TOTAL RUNTIME: 61 minutes

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