A gynecologist in Utah failed to remove a piece of gauze from a woman’s vagina after surgery to remove her cervix — and left the material inside of her for nearly a month, a lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit, filed by a woman in Tooele who had her right fallopian tube and ovary removed as well, claims gynecologist Eldad Vered noted in records following the Dec. 10, 2014, surgery that the “sponge and instrument count” was complete, but didn’t indicate that the square, 2-inch piece of gauze was still inside the woman’s vagina.

That led to pelvic pain, chills, fatigue and painful urination, but it wasn’t until the woman returned to Vered’s office on Jan. 8, 2015, that he “discovered and removed” the gauze, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

The woman suffered “profuse” and “abundant foul-smelling discharge” as a result of the retained vaginal packing sponge, according to the lawsuit. Vered later diagnosed her with pelvic incisional cellulitis when she returned for a follow-up visit.

The woman — who complained the ordeal impacted her work as a professional driver — told Vered during an appointment in February that she still had pain when “moving or sitting still for an extended period of time,” as well as fatigue.

“Despite [Vered’s] admission that he had failed to write the order to remove the packing or otherwise ensure that it was removed, he rationalized that there was no harm since ‘she did not have an infection when the packing was removed,’” the lawsuit states.

But since Vered failed to take any culture samples while removing the gauze, he couldn’t be “empirically conclusive” that the woman didn’t have an infection.

The woman claims the care she received “fell below the acceptable standards of care,” according to the lawsuit, which seeks damages and attorney fees and named Vered, his Healthcare for Women practice in Tooele and the Jordan Valley Medical Center as defendants.

Vered, meanwhile, declined to respond to a message seeking comment left with a relative. A spokesman said the hospital cannot comment on pending litigation, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.