Woman’s Feeding Tube Allegedly Found ‘Embedded’ Inside Her Stomach 35 Years After Surgery: ‘They Took My Whole Life’

Mar. 15, 2025

Deborah Lowe.Photo:WCP Communications

WCP Communications

A Wisconsin woman is taking legal action after learning a feeding tube was allegedly left inside her body during surgery nearly 35 years ago.

In 1989, Deborah Lowe was pregnant with twins when she underwent an emergency c-section at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee. During the delivery, she suffered “severe complications,” which resulted in the death of her twins and required her to undergo a total hysterectomy at 25 years old.

“I had tubes everywhere,” she recalled toFOX6. “Feeding tubes, everything on me.”

After being discharged from the hospital, Lowe, now 60, began experiencing “persistent abdominal pain.” Over the following three decades, she saw multiple doctors and underwent a number of procedures but her pain went undiagnosed.

“It was just difficult for me to do things. I like to workout. I like to walk. I couldn’t do that stuff,” she said. “I had migraines, shortness of breath, and my stomach constantly swelled.”

Deborah Lowe.WCP Communications

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However, Lowe claims that during a colon procedure in April 2024, her surgeon allegedly discovered that the feeding tube from her 1989 surgery was still inside her, “embedded in her abdominal cavity.” The news left her “in shock.”

“How could they do this,” Lowe said during a press conference. “Who could make this mistake? This is too much, I shouldn’t have to go through this.”

“The feeding tube was left inside for 35 years… that’s my whole life,” she said, bursting into tears. “They took my whole life. I was only 25 years old and I couldn’t have no more kids. Now I’m still going through things. I can’t do things I used to do.”

Lowe is now suing Mount Sinai Medical Center — which is now Aurora Sinai Medical Center — for claims of medical negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and emotional distress.

Court documents allege that “the retained surgical feeding tool was the likely cause of her decades-long abdominal pain and gastrointestinal issues. The presence of this foreign object also contributed to extensive intra-abdominal adhesions, which required surgical intervention.”

Deborah Lowe.FOX6 News Milwaukee/YouTube

FOX6 News Milwaukee/YouTube

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“Lowe’s suffering was entirely preventable,” LaMarr said in a press release. “This case is a glaring example of systemic failure within our healthcare system. No patient should endure decades of pain because of a preventable mistake hidden in plain sight.”

Aurora Sinai Medical Center did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. The hospital said in a statement to FOX6 that they have “not been legally notified of this lawsuit and cannot comment further.”

During the press conference, LaMarr said that this case is “the most outrageous alleged negligence that I think I’ve ever seen before.”

source: people.com