An Australian woman says she carried a grapefruit-sized sponge inside her abdomen¹ for 15 years, and is suing the doctor who she says left it there.

一位澳大利亚妇女称，一块葡萄柚大小的海绵已在她腹部内存在了15年时间。目前她正在起诉当时给她做手术的医生。

Helen O'Hagan says the sponge was left behind from colectomy（结肠切除术） surgery in 1992.

She thought the subsequent fevers, cramps²（肌肉抽筋） and loss of bowel³ control were related to her original condition, until an X-ray in 2007.

The doctor had argued too much time had elapsed（时间过去） to warrant a trial, but a judge has allowed the suit to go ahead.

The Sydney Morning Herald⁵ newspaper said that over the 15 years, the sponge had "became encapsulated（密封的） in dense⁶ fibrous adhesions（粘连） within a sac of fluid".

It was removed by a different surgeon on the same day that it was found.

Judge Leonard Levy⁷ ruled that Ms O'Hagan could go ahead with the suit claiming negligence⁸ or breach⁹ of contract despite the lapse⁴ of time because the woman had been so preoccupied¹⁰ with her health that the delay was understandable.

Ms O'Hagan has been hospitalised 23 times since 1970. A colectomy is a surgical¹¹ resection of the large intestine¹²（大场） .

She also only learned this May that the sponge could only have been left there from the 1992 surgery. The lawsuit¹³ begins in the Sydney District Court this week.