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A mom of three in Brazil has spent most of the year in excruciating pain. Erica Cristina Bannai Von Hoonholtz had a hysterectomy in January 2026. Everything regarding the procedure was routine, and she seemed to be on the road to recovery. However, she continued to find herself in pain. Not just the occasional pain from having major abdominal surgery.
This pain was debilitating to the point where she couldn’t work or care for her children. But no one could figure out the cause of her intense pain. That is until she went in for an x-ray. Soon, it was discovered that doctors left seven-inch surgical scissors inside of her.
The discovery led to a series of additional procedures.
Erica Cristina Bannai Von Hoonholtz was rushed into emergency surgery at Santa Casa de Misericordia Hospital in Braganca Paulista, Sao Paulo on April 11, Ladbible reported.
“I arrived at the hospital completely disoriented with pain,” she told local media, the outlet reported. “They gave me medication, but nothing worked. It didn’t stop the vomiting or the pain.”
The woman called the pain “unbearable,” adding that the pain “felt like something was trying to come out from inside me.”
When they went in and found the scissors, it was also discovered that part of her small intestine had become necrotic. Ultimately, she had to undergo three surgeries after the hysterectomy: one to remove the scissors, another to repair a hernia and drain an intestinal abscess, and a last one to treat a liver abscess.
It was a truly harrowing experience.
“Now it’s finally sinking in how close I came to losing my life,” she said. “I’m recovering, but I’m still trying to process everything psychologically. I’m recovering, but I’m still trying to process everything psychologically.”
The good thing is that the hospital owned up to what happened after the scissors were removed. They even began providing medical assistance.
Von Hoonholtz said that the hospital covered all treatment related to the scissor incident after she lost her health insurance and a job opportunity.
“Everything related to the scissors, they’ve supported me with,” she said. “Whenever I feel pain, I go there and they treat me. My children are also receiving psychological care.”
There is an investigation into the doctor who left the scissors inside Erica Cristina Bannai Von Hoonholtz.
According to the mom, before she had her hysterectomy, the surgeon kept pressuring her to pay £1,250 privately for a tummy tuck. The pressure continued even after the surgery.
Naturally, she was distressed to see that the doctor was still treating patients when she returned to the hospital for another procedure in July.
She filed a police report, and now the case is also being investigated as a criminal matter. Court proceedings have been underway since May 28 at the Special Civil and Criminal Court in Braganca Paulista.
Santa Casa de Misericordia Hospital has said it cannot comment publicly on individual cases because of patient confidentiality and data protection laws. But the hospital is remaining available to cooperate with the relevant authorities through official channels.
A full-scale investigation has also been launched by local police into bodily injury that leaves the surgeon open to criminal negligence charges.
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