Needle found inside one-year-old girl’s body in Kerala, parents allege NICU negligence

A needle was found lodged beside a one-year-old girl’s ribs months after her treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit at Kottayam Government Medical College Hospital, prompting her parents to allege medical negligence.

The girl’s mother, Anju, said the child entered the NICU after developing difficulty drinking breast milk. When the parents received her back, they noticed a lump near the ribs on the right side. Doctors reportedly said scans showed nothing abnormal and that the swelling would disappear within a few days.

The child continued to suffer pain and often cried at night. Her parents later took her to Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital, where doctors detected the needle lodged near her right ribs. Surgeons removed it in July 2026 without complications.

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We went inside the NICU only at night to feed the baby. When we got her back, we noticed a lump beside the ribs on the right side. I thought one of the ribs broke. When we pointed it out to the doctors, they said they would do a scan. Later, they did a scan and told us that there was nothing abnormal, that the swelling would go away in a few days.

The parents, Vineesh and Anju, have filed complaints with Kerala’s health minister, the women and child welfare minister and the superintendent of Kottayam Government Medical College Hospital. Anju said the incident was clearly a case of negligence and called for action against the doctors responsible.

The Kottayam medical superintendent has been ordered to conduct an inquiry and submit a report to the health department. Hospital authorities said a deputy superintendent had been assigned to establish who was on duty during the relevant period and what occurred while the child was receiving NICU treatment. They said the matter would be investigated seriously and the facts established through a detailed inquiry.

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It’s clearly a case of medical negligence which occurred inside the NICU at the Kottayam MCH following the delivery. We have filed complaints with the authorities and we hope that the errant doctors are punished.