[Answered]: The day after surgery a nurse removed a drainage…

The day after surgery a nurse removed a drainage tube from a patient’s surgical wound. Four months later a computerized tomography (CT) scan revealed that a 4.25-inch piece of plastic tubing had been left at the surgical site. The patient underwent a second surgery to have this piece of tubing removed. The patient sued the hospital and the nurse for negligence. When questioned during the trial, the nurse testified that she had used no excessive force or speed in pulling the tubing. The patient’s attorney disputed this fact, but introduced no expert witness testimony, relying on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur to explain the retained tubing. The nurse’s expert witness testified that there was no departure from the standard of care in the nurse’s actions.