20-Year-Old Claims Medical Negligence at Bayamo Hospital Led to Uterus Loss

An alarming report shared online has deeply impacted Cubans both on the island and abroad. Darielah Delgado, a 20-year-old woman, claims she suffered from severe medical negligence at the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Provincial Hospital in Bayamo, resulting in the loss of her uterus following a botched dilation and curettage procedure. This account, posted by exiled doctor Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre on his Facebook page, recounts a series of events that began on February 10, when Darielah was admitted to terminate a pregnancy due to fetal congenital abnormalities.

On February 13, three days after her admission, Darielah was taken to the operating room at 8:00 am to induce labor. By 12:30 pm, she had delivered the fetus, but what followed turned into a medical nightmare. Darielah recounted that the attending doctor had to leave to find the doctor responsible for removing the fetus, who was preoccupied with her phone. Upon finally arriving, the doctor left the remains in plain sight, causing Darielah severe anxiety.

"Thanks to a doctor named Isandro who helped me that day," Darielah noted, highlighting a rare positive aspect in an otherwise traumatizing experience. Following the induction, a doctor informed her that she would perform a "cleaning." Darielah consented, unaware that it involved an unmedicated dilation and curettage, a procedure she described as torturous. "I kept saying 'Doctor, stop,' and she didn't stop until it was done," she wrote on her Facebook.

The true severity of Darielah's condition became apparent during her recovery. Around 4:00 am, a nurse examining her pressed on her abdomen, triggering a massive hemorrhage. "The dilation and curettage had perforated me and caused internal bleeding," she explained. Darielah was rushed to intensive care, her hemoglobin levels plummeting to critical levels—just 3 grams per deciliter—necessitating three blood transfusions.

"I was in grave condition, on the brink of death," she added. Ultimately, doctors performed a total hysterectomy to save her life, a procedure that left Darielah without a uterus and unable to have children in the future.

In her heart-wrenching message, Darielah demands justice not only for herself but also for other similar cases that, according to her and activists like Figueredo Izaguirre, frequently occur at that hospital without any disciplinary or legal consequences for those responsible.

"How many more have to go through this?" the doctor questions in his post. "Here is a 20-year-old who left without a womb, shattered physically and emotionally, due to a series of preventable medical errors." He concluded, "And do you know what's the worst part? This is just another case in the endless list of mistakes, mistreatments, and medical crimes committed at that hospital, while those responsible remain unpunished, justifying their actions on camera and covering up the truth."