The state of South Carolina has paid $1 million to the estate of a man who died after surgeons at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) left a metal surgical blade inside his abdomen during a 2022 procedure.
According to state records, 58-year-old Jeffrey Alan Fulcher underwent a minimally invasive surgery at MUSC in June 2022 to treat localized esophageal cancer. What began as a routine cancer operation turned into a fatal ordeal after a Thompson retractor blade was accidentally left in his body and went unnoticed for nearly a week.
In the days following his surgery, Fulcher reportedly complained of severe abdominal pain and complications. Imaging later revealed the blade had punctured his colon, leading to massive internal infection, sepsis, and multiple emergency surgeries. Despite aggressive treatment, Fulcher died on June 21, 2022, just six days after his initial operation.
The hospital’s surgical team had documented that all instruments were properly counted before and after the operation, making the case particularly troubling for investigators. The state’s Insurance Reserve Fund, which handles claims against public agencies, approved the $1 million settlement this fall without admitting wrongdoing.
A representative for MUSC declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing confidentiality laws, but confirmed that “procedural reviews and safety improvements have been implemented” since the incident.
Fulcher’s family, through their attorney, described the settlement as “a small measure of accountability for a preventable tragedy.”
Experts say such cases, though rare, highlight the need for enhanced instrument tracking technology and real-time surgical verification systems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates that retained surgical items occur in roughly one out of every 5,500 surgeries, often leading to severe injury or death.
The state settlement concludes a two-year legal process but leaves lingering questions about oversight and surgical safety within South Carolina’s largest public hospital system.