Featured Image Credit: TV Globo
Topics: Health, Life, World News
Rhiannon Ingle
A dancer who went to the hospital for surgery on her uterus woke up in shock to find her left arm had been amputated.
The Brazilian samba dancer went to get an operation to treat her uterine fibroids but was horrified to find out she was missing half a limb after coming to.
Alessandra dos Santos Silva, 35, was understandably mortified and has claimed that her 'life ended' following the shocking procedure. Check out her dancing pre-op here:
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Silva was first admitted to Hospital da Mulher Heloneida Studart in Brazil's former capital city, Rio de Janeiro, back in February following scans taken from August of last year which found several growths in her uterus.
The woman, a skilled passista at the Academicos do Grande Rio school, ended up having complications mid-surgery and woke up to find out her left arm had been completely removed from below the elbow.
During the surgery, the 35-year-old ended up having to undergo a total hysterectomy as well.
A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the womb, or uterus, which means patients will no longer be able to get pregnant post-op.
Whilst having the procedure, Silva's arm became necrotic - a condition which the NHS describes as a 'flesh eating disease that develops over a few hours or days' - due to a haemorrhage and doctors were allegedly unable to save it.
The following morning, visiting family members noticed that the dancer's bandaged hands and legs were cold to the touch and that her fingers seemed darker in colour.
Three days later Silva was then transferred to the State Institute of Cardiology Aloysio de Castro in Botafogo after her arm had turned nearly completely black due to necrosis from the initial surgery's complications.
Both the dancer's kidneys and liver then started to fail and her family were informed that she was die if she didn't go through with the life-saving operation.
However, Silva did not know about the amputation until she surfaced.
The woman was then released from hospital but, when she returned some weeks later for follow-up care, doctors grew extremely concerned about the declining condition of her stitches.
Silva then had to stay at the hospital for another month-long stint until she was finally healthy enough to be discharged yet again in early March.
The dancer, who has been engaged for 11 years, said she always dreamed of having biological children but due to the full hysterectomy, this is something she will tragically never be able to do.
Silva, who was also a beauty therapist, has revealed that she now has no idea how to able to make a living, either dancing or working in beauty salons with just one hand.
“I want those responsible to pay, for the hospital to take responsibility," she said. "They managed to end my life. They destroyed my work, my career, my dream... everything."
The talented dancer's family has since explained that Silva is only still alive thanks to the help of friends, who pushed to get her back into hospital after the reported medical negligence.
The Rio de Janeiro Health Department alongside the Civil Police have since launched an inquiry into what exactly happened at the São João de Meriti Women's Hospital.