Cancer patient suffered for months until surgical sponge found inside him, suit says

For months, Frank Kryzak complained of pain after undergoing surgery in Illinois to treat his cancer.

The unexplained pain caused swelling and drainage to the wound on his neck, attorneys say, and it ultimately delayed his chemotherapy treatment.

Finally, a surgical team figured out the cause of Kryzak’s irritating symptoms in May 2023 — four months after his initial surgery.

“While he was unconscious, in some manner unknown to him, a retained surgical sponge was placed in his body and remained there after his surgical incision was closed,” attorneys said of the first surgery at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital.

Kryzak has now sued the Illinois hospital, as well as the doctor and two members of the surgical team.

In a statement to McClatchy News, Northwestern Medicine said it does “not comment on pending litigation.”

“Mr. Kryzak was the victim of clear medical negligence and as a result he endured months of unnecessary pain and suffering, was forced to undergo a second surgery to remove the sponge, and had his cancer treatment delayed,” Michael Teich of the law firm Bobber, Teich & Pippin said in an emailed statement to McClatchy.

According to the lawsuit, Dr. Aqeel Sandhu performed the initial mass and lymph node removal surgery on Kryzak on Jan. 31, 2023.

Joining Sandhu on the surgical team were registered nurse Elizabeth Romanes and surgical technologist Meredith Garner, who were tasked with performing a sponge count during the surgery, among other duties, the lawsuit states.

Attorneys say the trio were “careless and negligent” in allowing the sponge to be left inside the man’s neck.

“His chemotherapy treatment was delayed while his doctors attempted to figure out what was going on,” Teich said. “Meanwhile, Dr. Sandhu failed to schedule follow-up visits or properly investigate the cause of the swelling and other symptoms.”

Kryzak sought the opinion of another surgeon, and on May 31, 2023, that surgeon discovered the sponge inside the patient’s neck that had been there for four months, according to the attorney.

McHenry Hospital is “vicariously liable” for Kryzak’s injuries, according to the lawsuit, which states the hospital failed in its training of its employees and enforcement of its policies and procedures.

The “negligence” of the McHenry Hospital staff caused Kryzak “serious and permanent injury,” the lawsuit states. Attorneys say he will continue to suffer “significant pain” in the future.

Kryzak is seeking an unspecified amount of money and a jury trial, according to the lawsuit.

McHenry is about a 60-mile drive northwest from Chicago.

This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Cancer patient suffered for months until surgical sponge found inside him, suit says."