A Johannesburg pastor has launched an official complaint saying she endured an agonising series of complications after a routine hernia repair at a government hospital turned into a nightmare, and led to another seven operations.
Leeann Dyker’s journey through the Gauteng healthcare system began when her bowel was accidentally nicked in her initial hernia procedure at Helen Joseph Hospital on 29 August last year, leading to seven more additional surgeries the next month.
News24 reports that she was finally discharged on 28 September after spending a month in hospital.
Then a chest x-ray in June this year revealed a forgotten guide wire inside her body from the previous surgeries, further complicating her recovery.
Although the wire was eventually removed on 1 July at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, Dyker claimed the medical setbacks continued.
She said a scheduled operation on 1 August was abruptly cancelled due to a hospital power outage, even though power was restored shortly afterwards.
"On the day of the operation, the doctor told me they would cancel the procedure if the power was not on by 11.30. It came on at 11.40, and they still cancelled and gave me a date for 19 September."
She told News24 she was still in constant pain, experiencing “sharp pricks in my heart”, and was short of breath. She is unable to walk for long, and can’t lie on her stomach.
As a full-time minister, Dyker added, the repeated hospital visits and cancellations have also led to significant financial losses and missed opportunities in her missionary work.
“I don’t work. It has been costing me money for extra painkillers, taxi fare, petrol, and so much more, but most of all, the agony I have to endure walking with this stomach that feels like I am carrying steel… I have constant back and leg pain.
“I don’t think the doctors have compassion for what I have to go through,” she said.
Dyker lodged a complaint with the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) on 2 August, which promised to get back to her “as soon as possible”.
Gauteng Health Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba confirmed Dyker had undergone different procedures and was booked for repair of an incisional hernia in August.
“Due to a power outage, her surgery was postponed, given that … when operating on generators, the hospital only performs emergency surgeries,” he said.
Modiba added that the relevant head of the department then saw Dyker at the hospital, and the advantages of postponing surgery were discussed.
“The intention was to perform the surgery on 6 or 7 August, but after the discussion, the September date was offered, and she accepted.
“The hospital is aware of her ongoing symptoms, which may be unrelated to the hernia, and is arranging further specialists’ consultations this week.”
He confirmed a piece of guide wire was “incidentally” found on the X-ray, adding “the occurrence is a rare but known complication”.
“The patient was completely asymptomatic and unaware of the matter; it was routinely removed without incident.
“The hospital management, with clinicians, will act in her best interests to improve her well-being,” he said.
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‘Just a hernia’: The common operation with recurrence and complication rates stuck in the 1990s